Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain said in a joint statement in Cairo on Wednesday that the four countries feel sorry for the negative response from the State of Qatar and the measures which were taken against Daha were for securing the Arab national security, and the Qatari position would not be tolerated and should be stopped.
The statement stressed the importance of confronting terrorism and extremism and the necessity for Qatar to stop its interferes in the Arab countries and supporting terrorism. Also, the four countries praised the importance role of the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah in mediating in the crisis.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that the upcoming meeting for the four countries will be held in the Bahraini capital city of Al-Manama. Shoukry said that Egypt is suffering from terrorism, so it confronts terrorism and supporters of terrorism.
Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa said in the joint press conference that the Muslim Brotherhood is a terror organisation and everyone supports the Brotherhood should be punished for this.
Regarding the Irani and Turkish positions in support of Qatar, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said that Iran is an isolated country, and it is the main supporter of terrorism, so it would be a supporter of Doha. Al-Jubeir added that Turkey told Saudi Arabia that it neutral in the crisis.
Furthermore, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi received a phone call from US President Donald Trump and they discussed international and regional issues including the Qatari crisis. According to an official statement from the Egyptian Presidency, Al-Sisi and Trump shared the same point of views about several issues, such as confronting terrorism.
On Wednesday morning, the four Arab countries boycotting Qatar announced in a joint statement that they have have received the Qatari response via Kuwait before the end of the additional deadline, said Al-Jubeir.
The quartet statement added that Qatar will receive a reply in due time, according to the Saudi News Agency.
The Saudi Arabia-led coalition’s demands to Qatar included shutting Al Jazeera, closing the Turkish army base, scaling down Iran ties, and severing all alleged ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and with other groups, including Hezbollah, al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS). The four countries have given Qatar 10 days to respond to the demands. The first deadline was set to end at 9.00pm on Sunday, which has been extended for two more days.
The extension was suggested by the Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, without stating whether Qatar had rejected the ultimatum.
On Wednesday, Qatari Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said at London’s Chatham House that his country is going to do “whatever it takes to protect our people” and that whatever Saudi Arabia and its allies take against Qatar should be based on international law.
Al-Thani added that it is important for his country to have good relations with Iran and that they both share a gas field.
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister of Germany Sigmar Gabriel praised in a press conference Qatar’s “restraint” in responding to the measures imposed by some Arab states. Gabriel told reporters that “there are boundaries that you should not cross, that the sovereignty of each of country and the respect of this national sovereignty has to be there.”
In the same conference, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, said that the fight against terrorism is a top priority for his country. He added that the demands put to Doha by Saudi Arabia and its allies were impossible to meet and that the list of demands is unrealistic and not actionable.
Meanwhile, in Cairo on Tuesday, heads of intelligence from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain held a meeting in Cairo on Tuesday, just a day before their foreign ministers met to discuss the Qatari crisis, according to state news agency MENA.
No details were mentioned about the meeting.
On 5 June, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Yemen, and Libya’s eastern-based government, in addition to the Maldives, cut their diplomatic and travel ties with Qatar. The six Arab governments accused Qatar of supporting terrorism, supporting Iran, and disturbing security and stability in the region—charges that Doha denies.
