48 hours to resolve the Gulf crisis?

The 13-point ultimatum issued by Arab countries to Qatar expired on the evening of July 2. The Doha government was given only 48 hours to either accept or face new sanctions.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani affirmed that there is no acceptance or negotiation of the demands of Arab countries - Photo: Reuters

The Doha government may face further sanctions from four countries: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain when the 13-point "ultimatum" that these countries gave Qatar expired on the evening of July 2.

Kuwait's state news agency (KUNA) confirmed on the morning of July 3 that Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah had received Qatar's official response to yesterday's "ultimatum".

The country is acting as a mediator between Qatar and the four countries after the Gulf diplomatic crisis broke out in early June.

KUNA's announcement did not specify whether Doha had rejected or accepted, or partially accepted, the above-mentioned demands, but it did detail that the head of Kuwait had asked the four countries that had made the demands for an extension of time.

Hours later, Saudi Arabia's state news agency immediately published a joint statement from the four countries, emphasizing that Qatar had only 48 hours to accept the demands.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, during a visit to Italy last week, affirmed that there would be no "acceptance or negotiation" of this demand.

The ultimatum from the Arab quartet includes demands that Qatar end Türkiye's military presence in the country and close Al Jazeera television station, according to Reuters. The countries that made the demands stressed that there was "no discussion" about changing or "haggling" over the demands.

The foreign ministries of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain have not yet responded to Kuwait's call. Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid, in a statement on July 2, confirmed that the foreign ministers of the four countries will meet in Cairo to discuss the crisis and Qatar on July 5.

"Qatar always wants to shake Saudi Arabia's security and interfere in the internal affairs of other countries," Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the United Nations Abdullah bin Yahiya al-Moallemi wrote on Twitter. He emphasized that Qatar itself has lost the opportunity to resolve the crisis that has lasted for nearly a month in the Gulf.

The Qatari government has been vague about its official response, but Qataris have been vocal since the crisis began. The confrontation between Doha and the Arab states has been caricatured as a David-versus-Goliath showdown, an image that has been widely shared on social media, according to Reuters.

According to Tuoi Tre