List of demands not realistic says Qatar
Foreign minister Qatar has rejected a list of 13 conditions which were set by four Arab states for lifting sanctions, the foreign minister has said that it is neither reasonable nor actionable.
Saudi Arabia and its allies have imposed strict sanctions on Qatar. They have accused Qatar of backing terrorism. Among different demands, they have also demanded the closure of Al Jazeera TV, which is funded by the Qatari government.
On the other hand Al Jazeera had accused them of trying to “silence freedom of expression.”
Unprecedented diplomatic and economic sanctions have been imposed on Qatar for more than two weeks. While Iran and Turkey increasingly supplying it with food and other goods.
Qatar has denied accusations that it is funding terrorism and fostering regional instability.
The four countries have also demanded that Qatar reduces its ties with Iran and close a Turkish military base, they have given a deadline of 10 days.
A spokesman has said that the government is reviewing the demands.
On Wednesday, 21st June 2017, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had asked the four countries to make their demands “reasonable and actionable.”
Conversely, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who was quoted by a news agency said: “The US secretary of state recently called upon the blockading nations to produce a list of grievances that was ‘reasonable and actionable’”.
He further added that the demands were proof that the sanctions had “nothing to do with combating terrorism… [but] limiting Qatar’s sovereignty, and outsourcing our foreign policy.”
Through a statement Al Jazeera said “We assert our right to practise our journalism professionally without bowing to pressure from any government or authority.”
The main import routes of Qatar by land from Saudi Arabia and by sea from container ships docked in the UAE have all been disrupted and much of the surrounding airspace has been closed to its air traffic.
On the other hand, the small but wealthy country has so far avoided economic collapse by finding alternative routes.
However, Qatari citizens who have been living in neighbouring countries or with family living there have been hit the hardest. They have been issued ultimatums to leave by the countries.
Earlier the US President Donald Trump had taken a hard line towards Qatar, he had accused Qatar of being a high level supporter of terrorism.
However, the Arab states involved in the crisis are all close allies of the US while the largest US base in the Middle East is in Qatar.
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