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4 Arab Nations Extend Deadline in Qatar Crisis

The new deadline will expire late Tuesday or early Wednesday.
The new deadline will expire late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

A group of Arab nations early on Monday extended a deadline for Qatar to respond to their list of demands in a diplomatic crisis roiling the Persian Gulf Arab states by 48 hours, saying Kuwait’s emir requested the delay as part of his efforts to mediate the dispute.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut off ties with 2022 FIFA World Cup host Qatar on June 5, restricting access to their airspace and ports and sealing Qatar’s only land border, which it shares with Saudi Arabia, AP reported.

They issued a 13-point list of demands to end the standoff June 22 and gave the natural gas-rich country 10 days to comply.

The joint statement early Monday by the four Arab nations said they expected Qatar to respond to their demands later in the day. The new deadline would expire late Tuesday or early Wednesday. Foreign ministers of the four Arab nations will meet Wednesday in Cairo to discuss their next moves, Egypt said Monday.

“The response of the four states will then be sent following the study of the Qatari government’s response and assessment of its response to the whole demands,” the statement said.

US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, spoke with Qatar’s emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as well as King Salman of Saudi Arabia and Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE crown prince.

The White House said Trump urged unity and reiterated the importance of stopping terrorist financing and discrediting extremist ideology. A separate statement carried on the official Qatar News Agency said the emir’s discussion with Trump touched on the need to fight terrorism and extremism in all its forms and sources, and was a chance for the countries to review their bilateral strategic relations.

Qatari Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah told Sky News that “Qatar is not an easy country to be swallowed by anyone. We are ready. We stand ready to defend our country. I hope that we don’t come to a stage where, you know, a military intervention is made,”

Qatar’s main QE stock index lost more than 3% when it reopened Sunday following a weeklong hiatus for the Eid al-Fitr holiday break - its first session since the demands were laid out. It eventually recovered some of its losses later in the trading session to close down 2.3% at 8,822.15.

 

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