Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa announced that the collective decision to sever relations with Qatar came after Doha’s insistence on taking an anti-Arab stance.

The statement came after a meeting in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Thursday where both leaders discussed the decision to sever ties with Qatar came only after attempts were made to dissuade Doha from supporting terrorist organizations, as well as its insistence on intervening in the internal affairs of Egypt, Bahrain and other Arab countries which have failed threatened regional security and stability.

The two sides agreed on the importance of working to strengthen joint Arab action and stressed the need to establish relations between Arab countries on the principles of mutual respect and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.

On Monday, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Yemen and the eastern-based government of Libya cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf country of supporting terrorist groups and interfering in the internal affairs of neighboring countries.

“Qatari interference left us with no choice but to take the measures we took to preserve the security and stability of our countries," the Bahraini king said following the meeting in Saudi Arabia.

Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 14:00 - GMT 11:00