Saudi Arabia and its allies on Monday said they had decided to extend by 48 hours the deadline for Qatar to accept their list of demands to lift a de facto blockade. With the deadline expiring at midnight yesterday, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt agreed to give Doha an extension to respond positively to their demands. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt announced on June 5 they were severing ties with their Gulf neighbour, sparking the worst diplomatic crisis to hit the region in decades. On June 22 they presented a list of 13 demands and gave Doha 10 days to comply. “The list of demands is made to be rejected,” Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said Saturday in Rome.

Source: Hindustan Times July 03, 2017 01:18 UTC