Dubai: The Qatari government’s refusal to accept the diplomatic demands of the four nations demonstrates that Doha has links to terrorist groups, the Saudi Press Agency, citing a statement from the alliance, said.
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In the statement, the four countries — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt — expressed their “deep surprise” that Qatar rejected the 13 demands, saying that they were now “null and void.” They pledged new political, economic and legal measures against Doha.
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“The Qatari government has thwarted all efforts and diplomatic good offices to resolve the crisis, a fact that confirms its intransigence and rejection of any settlement, reflecting its intention to continue its policy aimed at destabilising security of the region,” the nations said.
The nations have demanded that Qatar scale back ties with Iran, sever relations with the Muslim Brotherhood and shut the Al Jazeera media network. The countries gathered in Cairo last week to discuss the monthlong spat as the deadline for Qatar to submit to their 13 demands elapsed.
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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will travel to Kuwait on July 10 to discuss efforts to resolve the dispute. The State Department has acknowledged that the crisis has hit a stalemate that could intensify and drag on for months, but hoped that the shared goal of fighting terrorism will bring them together eventually.
The standoff is becoming costlier for Qatar, the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, the longer it drags out.
Moody’s Investors Service last week cut its credit outlook for the country to negative, while Qatar’s stock market has lost about $15 billion in market value, or 10 per cent, since the Saudi-led boycott went into effect on June 5.
Meanwhile, the international anti-terror movement was launched on Thursday in major European capital cities, including London, Paris, Vienna and Bonn.
Activists distributed statements, documents, posters, videos and other materials in various European languages, highlighting the facts and figures about Qatar’s funding of global terrorism, which has harmed many innocent civilians across the world.
