Abu Dhabi: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have agreed to a request by Kuwait to extend by 48 hours Sunday’s deadline for Doha to comply, according to a joint statement.
The statement reads as follows: “In response to the request of the Amir of Kuwait His Highness Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, to extend the deadline given to the government Qatar for 48 hours, and following the Qatari government’s confirmation to His Highness that it will send its official reply to the list of demands by Monday, the four countries announce that they accept His Highness’ request.”
The four countries’ reply will be sent after studying and evaluating the Qatari government’s response to the complete list of demands.
The countries have threatened further sanctions against Qatar if it does not comply with their list of 13 demands presented to Doha through Kuwait 10 days ago.
Egypt said on Sunday that foreign ministers from the four boycotting countries would meet in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss Qatar, without providing further details.
They have not specified what further sanctions they could impose on Doha, but commercial bankers in the region believe that Saudi, Emirati and Bahraini banks might receive official guidance to pull deposits and interbank loans from Qatar.
The US State Department, which is an ally of all countries involved, endorsed Kuwait’s role as a mediator and called for both sides in the dispute to exercise restraint.
