Gulf diplomatic crisis: List of 13 demands made by UAE and allies not realistic, says Qatar

Qatar is reviewing a list of demands presented by four Arab states imposing a boycott on the wealthy Gulf country, but said on Saturday the list was not reasonable or actionable. A Qatari government spokesperson said a formal response would be made by the foreign ministry and delivered to Kuwait.

“We are reviewing these demands out of respect for… regional security and there will be an official response from our ministry of foreign affairs,” Sheikh Saif al-Thani, the director of Qatar’s government communications office, said in a statement to Reuters.

“This list of demands confirms what Qatar has said from the beginning – the illegal blockade has nothing to do with combatting terrorism, it is about limiting Qatar’s sovereignty, and outsourcing our foreign policy,” Sheikh Saif al-Thani director of Qatar’s government communications office

A Qatar semi-government human rights body said the demands were a violation of human rights conventions and should not be accepted by Qatar.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, which imposed a boycott on Qatar, issued an ultimatum to Doha to close Al Jazeera, curb ties with Iran, shut a Turkish military base and pay reparations among other demands.

The statement said US secretary of state Rex Tillerson had recently called upon Saudi Arabia and the other countries to produce a list of grievances that was “reasonable and actionable.”

“This list does not satisfy that criteria,” it said.

A senior UAE official said on Saturday that if Qatar did not accept the ultimatum, “the alternative is not escalation but parting ways”. UAE minister of state for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash told reporters that diplomacy, however, was still a priority.