Saudi Ambassador to Russia Reiterates Demand for Qatar to Shut Down Al Jazeera

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On July 19, media reported that Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the four nations involved in the ongoing diplomatic crisis, cut down their list of demands to six from their initial 13. The revised list excluded, among other provisions, the shutdown of Al Jazeera broadcaster.

"I stress that the four countries are not at war with Qatar, they are at war with extremism. It is demanded from Qatar, as from any other world’s state under the international law, to stop supporting and financing terrorism, harboring them [terrorists], close down the Al Jazeera TV channel, which incites terrorism, invites terrorists and promotes them despite them being included on lists of terrorists," the ambassador said.

In June, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt broke off diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism and interfering in their internal affairs. Doha has rejected the allegations as baseless.

Kuwait, acting as a mediator in the crisis, handed over the four Arab states' ultimatum containing several demands to Doha. The list included requests to sever relations with Iran, close Turkey’s military base on Qatar's territory, shut down Al Jazeera TV channel and end support for the Muslim Brotherhood, a terrorist organization banned in Russia. Doha has refused to comply with the demands.