Demands ‘Made to Be Rejected’

Qatar said a series of demands made by several Arab states to lift a crippling blockade were designed to be spurned and clearly aimed at infringing its sovereignty, AFP reported. “This list of demands is made to be rejected,” Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said, referring to 13 demands placed on Doha by Saudi Arabia and its allies as the price for lifting an almost month-long “blockade” on Qatar. Qatar said it had received the demands on June 22 with just 10 days to meet them, which would mean they would have until Sunday to comply. However, the deadline has not been confirmed. “Everyone is aware that these demands are meant to infringe the sovereignty of the state of Qatar,” Al-Thani said at a press conference in Rome after meeting his Italian counterpart on Saturday. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt announced earlier this month the suspension of all ties to Qatar. They accused it of state support for extremist groups and denounced its ties to Iran. Qatar denies the allegations.