Diplomats speaking before Cairo meeting of foreign ministers indicate Doha could be suspended from Gulf Co-operation Council

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Gulf states are preparing to ramp up economic sanctions against Qatar, as well as widening its diplomatic isolation and suspending it from the Gulf Co-operation Council, senior Gulf diplomats have indicated.

They were speaking before a meeting in Cairo of foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, which have been leading the blockade of Qatar since 5 June, accusing the emirate of supporting terrorism. On 22 June they issued a 13-point list of demands to end the standoff and gave Qatar 10 days to comply. That deadline was extended on Sunday by 48 hours.

The Cairo meeting will assess if Qatar has made enough concessions to the demands, which include ending financial support for extremists, withdrawing backing for the Muslim Brotherhood, closure of the broadcaster al-Jazeera and cutting diplomatic ties with Iran.

The blockading nations are pessimistic about Qatar’s willingness to accept the terms, and they predicted if no agreement was reached, two broadly neutral Middle East countries, Kuwait and Jordan, would swing behind Saudi Arabia against Qatar. Kuwait has been acting as the chief mediator in the dispute.

They added that a stronger economic embargo could be implemented, including disinvestment from Qatar, withdrawal of deposits and possibly a tighter air blockade. Last minute negotiations were continuing involving Kuwaiti emissaries in Jeddah.

The Qatar foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, speaking in Doha, said the list of demands from countries isolating Qatar “is unrealistic and is not actionable”.

“It’s not about terrorism, it’s talking about shutting down the freedom of speech,” he said at a joint press conference after talks with his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel. But he insisted his country was behaving maturely and looking for dialogue.

A blockading state said Qatar’s response has to be fully positive: “If it is half way, or there are grey areas on which we can adhere we can assess the position, but this is about ending support for terrorism.”

Qatar had earlier privately told its Gulf rivals it would not accept controls on its diplomatic ties, funding or media unless other countries in the region agree to the same treatment.



Qatar’s response to the demands, designed to show it feels it is being unfairly singled out, suggests a breakthrough is not imminent.

In an attempt to show that its finances can withstand any long-term economic blockade, Qatar, the world’s leading producer of liquified natural gas, announced a boost to gas production on Tuesday.

The head of the state-owned Qatar Petroleum told a press conference that the emirate intended to produce 100m tonnes of natural gas a year by 2024, up 30% from current levels.

Qatar denies supporting extremists and has defended its warm relations with Iran, with which it shares an undersea natural gas field.

In an attempt to shore up diplomatic support for the embargo, the Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, unexpectedly attended a summit of African Union leaders in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

The issue is likely to be raised at the G20 summit in Hamburg later this week, which the Saudis are due to attend.