Further escalation against Qatar looms: Arab quartet

CAIRO – 7 July 2017: The ultimatum that had been given to Qatar is now void, leading to further legal, political and economic measures against the government of Qatar by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, according to a Friday statement.

The Qatari government has purposely thwarted all diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis and has rejected any settlements, reflecting its intention to continue with its destabilizing policies against the interests of the Qatari people, the Arab quartet said in the joint statement.

They also condemned Qatar’s “lack of tact and respect” towards the Kuwaiti mediation, as it leaked the list of demands in an attempt to condemn the initiative to failure.

The “justified demands” come as a result of Qatar’s hostile practices and violations of the 2014 Riyadh Supplementary Agreement of which Doha is signatory, the statement said.

The four states added that Qatar has violated international conventions and norms; namely the charter of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the United Nations, and the outcome of the Islamic-American summit of Riyadh, in which 55 Islamic countries and U.S. President Donald Trump participated.

The Qatari regime interferes in the internal affairs of the countries in the region, seeks to destabilize them to spread chaos and devastation, and funds internationally-designated terror groups, the statement continued.