FMs of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain regret Doha’s negative response

Cairo - Foreign ministers of the four nations said on Wednesday they regretted Qatar’s ‘negative’ response to a list of demands to end a diplomatic crisis.

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By Agencies

Published: Wed 5 Jul 2017, 8:53 PM

Last updated: Thu 6 Jul 2017, 1:33 AM

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir said boycott of Qatar will remain in place as Doha failed to respond satisfactorily to demands placed by the Arab nations.
“The boycott will remain,” he said at a news conference in Cairo after meeting with his counterparts from Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE over the crisis.
Foreign ministers of the four nations said on Wednesday they regretted Qatar’s ‘negative’ response to a list of demands to end a diplomatic crisis. The ministers “regret the negative response from Qatar”, they said, in a statement read out by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, after the meeting in Cairo.
Speaking to reporters after reading the statement, Shoukry said Qatar’s response to the bloc’s conditions had “no substance”. But the ministers stopped short of announcing an escalation after the expiry of a deadline they had set for Qatar, with Al Jubeir saying they would “take steps at the appropriate time”.
The countries issued the 13-point list of demands on June 22, giving Qatar 10 days to respond. The deadline was extended by 48 hours on Sunday at the request of Kuwait.
Meanwhile, Moody’s has downgraded Qatar’s credit outlook to negative on concern a quick resolution of the Qatari crisis is unlikely, but kept its long-term issuer rating at Aa3, according to the rating agency.  Except for a ‘swift resolution,’ economic activity is likely to be stymied, Moody’s said.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, was leading the UAE delegation at the quartet meeting of the foreign ministers in Cairo.

Agencies

Published: Wed 5 Jul 2017, 8:53 PM

Last updated: Thu 6 Jul 2017, 1:33 AM

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