23 June 2017, 18:29 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt handed a 13-point ultimatum to Qatar on Friday, telling it to reduce ties to Iran, close a Turkish military base and shut down the Doha-based Al Jazeera news channel.
The Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television network cited the Qatari foreign minister who said the requirements were "not realistic." He reiterated that sanctions imposed on Qatar were an "illegal" attempt at tampering with the nation’s sovereignty and urged for them to be reviewed.
The four states, led by Saudi Arabia, severed diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5 after accusing it of funding extremism and destabilizing the Middle East. The nations then embargoed all sea, air and land traffic to the country, triggering food shortages.
