Gulf states dismiss Qatar’s response to list of demands

Qatar’s neighbours have dismissed its response to their list of demands and said they will continue their blockade of the tiny, wealthy emirate.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut off ties with Qatar on 5 June, accusing it of supporting terrorism. On 22 June they issued a 13-point list of demands – including ending support for the Muslim Brotherhood and closing broadcaster al-Jazeera – to end the standoff and gave Qatar 10 days to comply.

That deadline was extended by 48 hours on Sunday, when Qatar sent a letter to Kuwaiti mediators effectively refusing to engage with the demands.

Speaking after a meeting in Cairo on Wednesday of the foreign ministers from the four blockading nations, the Egyptian foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, said Qatar’s response “was overall negative and lacked any content”.

In a joint statement read out by Shoukry, the diplomats said Qatar lacked "understanding of the seriousness and gravity of the situation".

Existing sanctions, including a land and air blockade, would remain in place, the statement said.

The Saudi foreign minister said further steps would be taken against Qatar at the appropriate time, and would be in line with international law.

"We're not doing this because we want to hurt Qatar, we're doing this to help Qatar," Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir said.