The four blockading states have issued statements condemning Qatar today, following yesterday’s formal response to a list of 13 demands from Saudi Arabia, which they referred to as “negative” and not offering anywhere near enough concessions.
Egypt Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry was the first to issue a statement on the matter, saying that Qatar’s response proved that they don’t appreciate “the gravity of the situation,” while his UAE counterpart accused Qatar of violating international law.
The deadline for the demands was Tuesday night, after a 48-hour extension was granted. There is no indication, however, that Saudi Arabia and the others are going to do anything new, with Saudi officials suggesting the blockade would just stay in effect until Qatar capitulates. Since they imposed a full blockade immediately, the four nations didn’t leave themselves a lot of addition steps which could be taken.
The 13 demands included the expulsion of Turkey from its military base in Qatar, the closing of all diplomatic facilities in Iran, the permanent shuttering of all Qatari media outlets, and a pledge to pay an undisclosed fine to the Saudis as “reparations” for publicly disagreeing with them.
