No negotiations over demands on Qatar: Al-Jubeir

CAIRO – 27 June 2017: Saudi Arabia will not negotiate demands set by the kingdom and other Arab states for Qatar over the recent rift, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said on Tuesday.

Al-Jubeir stressed that it is in Qatar’s hand to stop financing terror and inciting extremism across the region, during a meeting with journalists in Washington DC.

It comes only a few days before a deadline set by several Gulf and Arab countries on Qatar to accept a 13-point list of demands.

The list of demands include the closure of Al Jazeera TV channel, breaking off diplomatic ties with Iran, cancelling moves to establish a Turkish military base in Qatar and ending any military cooperation with the country.
Qatar’s relations with several Arab states have been strained since May 24 over a leaked statement attributed to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, criticizing Gulf foreign policy with Iran, describing it as “unwise”.
The Qatari crisis was escalated when Egypt and a coalition of Arab states in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) announced a coordinated diplomatic break with Qatar, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The Arab countries, in dispute with Qatar, accused the peninsular country of funding Islamist terrorists, in part, via the Doha-based Al-Jazeera satellite channel.