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Saudi Arabia, Egypt to continue diplomatic, trade boycott against Qatar

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) meets with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the Ittihadiya Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egypt, on November 27, 2018. (Photo by Saudi Press Agency)

Saudi Arabia and Egypt have jointly announced that the ongoing Saudi-led diplomatic and trade boycott against Qatar, which they imposed on the energy-rich Persian Gulf kingdom in June 2017, would remain in effect until further notice.

During a meeting between visiting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the Ittihadiya Presidential Palace in Cairo on Tuesday, the pair reiterated their refusal to “make any concessions” to the Doha government, Saudi-owned and Dubai-based al-Arabiya television news network reported.

They also stated that both countries will continue to confront what they described as Iranian “interference” in the region.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt all cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5 last year, after officially accusing it of “sponsoring terrorism.”

The administration of the Saudi-backed and former Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, Libya, the Maldives, Djibouti, Senegal and the Comoros later joined the camp in ending diplomatic ties with Doha. Jordan downgraded its diplomatic relations as well.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry later announced that the decision to cut diplomatic ties was unjustified and based on false claims and assumptions.

On June 9, 2017, Qatar strongly dismissed allegations of supporting terrorism after the Saudi regime and its allies blacklisted dozens of individuals and entities purportedly associated with Doha.

Later that month, Saudi Arabia and its allies released a 13-point list of demands, including the closure of Al Jazeera television network and downgrade of relations with Iran, in return for the normalization of diplomatic relations with Doha.

The document containing the demands by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain also asked Qatar to sever all ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement. Qatar rejected the demands as "unreasonable."


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