Saudi alliance to meet in Bahrain to discuss Qatar blockade
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain will meet in Manama on Saturday to discuss the latest developments on their blockade of Qatar, according to the latest updates on Al Jazeera.
The four Arab states cut ties with Qatar early last month, accusing it of backing terrorist groups, which Doha denies, and developing ties with Iran.
In the two-day meeting, the four countries will press Qatar to comply with their demands, which include stopping interference in their internal affairs, the Egyptian statement said.
However, Qatar has firmly refused to bow to Saudi-led demands to "outsource" its foreign policy to resolve the Gulf crisis, Government Communications Office Director Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed al-Thani told AFP in an interview.
The four Arab countries had added 18 more groups and individuals they say are linked to Qatar to their terrorist lists last week.
Efforts led by Kuwait and Turkey and calls from the US administration have failed to ease what has become the worst rift between Arab states in years.
Qatar said on Wednesday that a new blacklist released by Saudi Arabia and its allies came as a "disappointing surprise".
Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al-Thani official said the blacklist had no basis in fact and was aimed at stripping the emirate of its sovereignty.
"It comes as a disappointing surprise that the blockading countries are still pursuing this story as part of their smear campaign against Qatar," he said in a statement.
Photo Credit: Reuters
