Dubai: Hours before the deadline set by the four Arab countries to Qatar to accept a series of demands to lift the boycott against Doha, Qatar remained defiant.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Shaikh Mohammad Bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said on Saturday that the 13 demands from the four Arab countries were “made to be rejected”.
Speaking at news conference in Rome after meeting his Italian counterpart, Shaikh Mohammad said “The state of Qatar ... is rejecting it as a principle,” he said, adding: “We are willing to engage in providing the proper conditions for further dialogue.”
The position was revealed nearly 24 hours before the ultimatum set by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to Doha was to expire.
The four countries, which had announced on June 5 cutting their diplomatic relations with Qatar over its foreign policy, supporting and financing terrorism and having too close relations with Iran. The four countries severed air, sea and ground links with Qatar. Qatari citizens were ordered to leave the countries and various steps were taken against Qatari companies and financial institutions.
On June 22 the Arab states presented a list of demands and gave Doha 10 days to comply. The ultimatum is expected to expire midnight on Sunday, though the deadline has not been officially confirmed.
The demands included the closure of Al Jazeera, quit backing Muslim Brotherhood, which is blacklisted in the four countries as a terrorist organisation, and the closure of a Turkish military base in Qatar. The list of demands also includes downgrading diplomatic ties with Iran.
It is unclear what further measures will be taken if Qatar fails to meet the demands. However, UAE ambassador to Russia Omar Gobash warned last week that further measures could be taken.
Another possibility on the table is expelling Doha from the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, said Gobash. The Arab states could tell their economic partners they need to make a choice between doing business with them or with Qatar, he told Britain’s Guardian newspaper.
“Their position (Qataris) today anyway is inconsistent with being members of the GCC because it is a common security and defence organisation. There are certain economic steps that we can take which are being considered right now.” Gobash said.
“One possibility would be to impose conditions on our own trading partners and say you want to work with us then you have got to make a commercial choice.”
Arab leaders and politicians from the four countries called on Doha, in the past few weeks, to make a choice between rejoining the bloc or go ahead with its policies against the interest of the Arab Gulf bloc and bear the consequences.
Arab Gulf ministers also stressed there is no room for negotiations with Qatar over their demands. They also said Doha didn’t meet its obligations in the 2014 Riyadh agreement, which ended another Gulf tension with Qatar also over its policies.
