Qatar's response to Egypt, Gulf countries' demands 'negative'

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Wednesday that Qatar's response to the demands of Egypt and Gulf countries was "very negative."

Shoukry's comments came during a press conference after his meeting in Cairo with his counterparts of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain to discuss their blockade of Qatar, Xinhua news agency reported.

"We have held talks to discuss the recent developments of the Qatari crisis and the ways to deal with it," he said.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5 and imposed punitive measures, accusing the gas-rich country of "supporting terrorism and interfering in their internal affairs."

The four Arab countries then issued a list of 13 demands to end rift with Doha, including closing Al-Jazeera television and cutting diplomatic ties with Iran.

The four announced on Wednesday that they received the Qatari response through Kuwait, who has played as a mediator to reach a solution for the crisis.

"There will be zero tolerance with the Qatari support for terrorism," Shoukry said, adding that there are evidences showing that Qatar supported terrorism and extremism.

Shoukry affirmed that another meeting will be held in Bahrain soon to further discuss the issue.

--IANS

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