Saudi Arabia says Qatar boycott to continue, no new sanctions

The Saudi Arabia-led group of four Arab countries, which are in a political stand-off with Qatar, on Wednesday said they were disappointed by the “lack of seriousness” and the “negative response” from Doha to their demands.

The four countries – Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt – refrained from enforcing further sanctions on Qatar, but said that they will maintain the boycott imposed on Qatar last month.

“(Qatar is) not ready to reconsider its policies and practices, reflecting a lack of understanding of the gravity of the situation,” the foreign ministers of the four countries said in a joint statement following their meeting in Cairo to discuss the Qatar crisis.

“The boycott of the State of Qatar will continue, until Doha adjusts its position,” Saudi foreign minister Adel Al-Jubeir said at a joint conference, adding that further measure will be taken “in time” and after consultation with Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE.

The foreign ministers plan to meet in Manama next to “follow up the situation.”

The four Arab states had cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar last month, accusing it of supporting terrorism and fomenting unrest in the region.

They later sent Qatar a list of 13 demands, threatening further sanctions if the Gulf state failed to comply.

Qatar sent in its response to the Saudi-led group through Kuwait, which has been acting as a mediator in the crisis.

Qatar’s response has not been made public.

Meanwhile, the Qatari foreign minister called for “dialogue” to resolve the crisis, Reuters reported.

Write to Nadeshda Zareen at nadeshda.zareen@argaamplus.com