Rome: Demands made of Qatar by four other Arab states were designed to be rejected, Doha’s foreign minister said on Saturday, explaining that their ultimatum was aimed not at tackling terrorism but at curtailing his country’s sovereignty. More From Livemint »He was speaking ahead of a deadline set by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt for Doha to accept 13 demands. It’s not meant to be accepted or ... to be negotiated,” Sheikh Mohammed said, adding that Qatar was willing to engage in further dialogue given “the proper conditions”. Arab states have said the demands are not negotiable and warned that further unspecified measures will follow if Qatar does not comply. He spoke after arriving from the United States.

Source: Mint July 02, 2017 05:15 UTC