by WorldTribune Staff, July 3, 2017
Four Arab states who severed diplomatic ties with Qatar last month agreed to extend their deadline for Qatar to comply with their list of demands for ending the crisis.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt on July 2 agreed to a request by Kuwait to extend the deadline by 48 hours, Reuters reported.
On July 3, Qatar delivered its response.
Details of Qatar’s response were not immediately available, but a Gulf official told AFP that Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani had delivered it during a short visit to Kuwait, which is acting as a mediator in the crisis.
Qatar’s reply would be “examined with precision”, Jubeir was quoted by AFP as having told a news conference with German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel in the city of Jeddah.
The four countries severed diplomatic ties with Qatar over allegations that it supports terrorism. Qatar denies the charges.
The nations later delivered 13 demands to ending the crisis, including shutting down the Al-Jazeera network, downgrading diplomatic ties with Iran and closing a Turkish military base. The countries have threatened further sanctions against Qatar if it does not comply with the demands.
Qatar has said the charges are baseless and the list of demands “made to be rejected.”
Kuwaiti state news agency KUNA said Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah had asked Saudi Arabia and the three other countries boycotting Qatar to grant it an extension. Kuwait has been acting as a mediator between the sides.
The crisis is believed to have been sparked by comments attributed Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani published by the Qatar News Agency on May 24 in which he allegedly described Iran as an “Islamic power” and criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s policy towards Teheran.
Qatar dismissed the remarks and said the website of the Qatar News Agency had been hacked. Qatar accused “neighboring countries” which cut ties with it of being behind the hacking.
In the Qatar News Agency report on May 24, the emir also said Qatar’s relations with Israel were good.
Meanwhile, Qatar has become the third country to ban the screening of the movie “Wonder Woman” because lead actress Gal Gadot is Israeli.
The film had been scheduled to premiere in Qatar on June 29 and was being promoted by local theater chains VOX Cinemas Qatar and Novo Cinemas. But in the days before its scheduled release the film was removed from cinema websites, Doha News reported.
The film currently is banned in Lebanon and Tunisia. Jordan’s Communications Commission initially banned the film and then allowed it to be screened “due to a lack of legal precedent,” Arutz Sheva reported.
“Wonder Woman” has grossed over $700 million worldwide since its release, Forbes reported.
Letters to the Editor __ Subscribe to Geostrategy-Direct __ Support Free Press Foundation
Qatar responds after Gulf states extended deadline to comply with demands added by World Tribune on
View all posts by World Tribune →