Manama: Qatar’s request to internationalise Haj operations is tantamount to a declaration of war against Saudi Arabia, Adel Al Jubeir, the country’s foreign minister said yesterday.

Since the establishment of the Kingdom, Saudi Arabia has been in charge of Haj and the king has assumed custodianship of the Holy Mosque.

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Foreign ministers from Bahrain, UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia who gathered in the Bahraini capital of Manama on Sunday accused Qatar of deliberately stalling Haj procedures for Qatari nationals while praising the facilities provided by the Saudi government to all pilgrims.

“We reject Qatar’s attempts to politicise the entry of Qatari pilgrims to the kingdom,” Al Jubeir said.

The ministers reiterated the need for Qatar to respond to the 13 demands they had previously listed to ensure the stability of the region and the world.

The Quartet stressed the importance of implementing the six principles announced at the July 5 Cairo meeting including combatting terror financing, a halt in meddling in the affairs of other countries, and the full implementation of the 2013 and 2014 Riyadh Agreements which were signed by Qatar.

The ministers said they were open to dialogue with Doha if there was a “genuine desire” on its part to cooperate.

The officials stressed that no solution would be reached through foreign mediation and the crisis could only be resolved through a Gulf intermediary.