PHOTO
02 July 2017
The Qatari foreign minister on Saturday said a list of demands made by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt aimed at ending a rift between Qatar and the four Arab states were designed to be rejected.
"This list of demands is made to be rejected. It's not meant to be accepted or ... to be negotiated," Qatar Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, told reporters in Rome on Saturday.
The list of 13 demands were presented to Qatar 10 days ago. They include closing a Turkish military base in Qatar and shutting down the Al-Jazeera television network.
The Qatar crisis erupted last May following a statement posted on the Qatari news agency attributed to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar's Emir, criticising renewed tensions with Iran and suggesting U.S. President Donald Trump might not last long in power, according to Reuters.
The Qatar news agency quickly retracted the comments and said its website has been hacked and the news was false. It asked the media to not publish the Emir’s comments.
However the three Gulf Arab states and Egypt did not accept claims the website had been hacked. The four countries announced a few days later they planned to sever all diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of fuelling terrorism, interfering in the internal affairs of other Arab nations and supporting Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood group, which the four Arab states regard as a political enemy.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain also cut their transport links with Qatar, while some Egyptian banks halted their dealing with Qatari banks.
Further Reading:
Zawya's Special Coverage on Qatar Tension
© Express 2017
The Qatari foreign minister on Saturday said a list of demands made by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt aimed at ending a rift between Qatar and the four Arab states were designed to be rejected.
"This list of demands is made to be rejected. It's not meant to be accepted or ... to be negotiated," Qatar Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, told reporters in Rome on Saturday.
The list of 13 demands were presented to Qatar 10 days ago. They include closing a Turkish military base in Qatar and shutting down the Al-Jazeera television network.
The Qatar crisis erupted last May following a statement posted on the Qatari news agency attributed to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar's Emir, criticising renewed tensions with Iran and suggesting U.S. President Donald Trump might not last long in power, according to Reuters.
The Qatar news agency quickly retracted the comments and said its website has been hacked and the news was false. It asked the media to not publish the Emir’s comments.
However the three Gulf Arab states and Egypt did not accept claims the website had been hacked. The four countries announced a few days later they planned to sever all diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of fuelling terrorism, interfering in the internal affairs of other Arab nations and supporting Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood group, which the four Arab states regard as a political enemy.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain also cut their transport links with Qatar, while some Egyptian banks halted their dealing with Qatari banks.
Further Reading:
- UAE, Saudi, Bahrain and Egypt inform WTO on their actions against Qatar
- Gulf deadline: Clock ticks for Qatar to accept demands
- Putin tells Qatar's emir diplomacy important to end Arab dispute
Zawya's Special Coverage on Qatar Tension
© Express 2017
