According to world media reports, Saudi Arabia has reportedly given Qatar a 24-hour ultimatum to fulfill a number of conditions it set in response to efforts to mediate between the two Arab nations.
At a meeting with Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who was in Jeddah to mediate in an ongoing rift between Doha and a number of Persian Gulf Arab states, Qatar was given a one-day ultimatum to fulfill ten conditions set by the Saudi Arabia.
Sky News Arabia reported that Saud Arabia’s ultimatum to Qatar started on Tuesday night.
According to media report, among the key demands by Saudi Arabia is that Qatar end all ties Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.
While there was little additional information on the Ultimatum and more importantly what happens should Qatar not comply, Al Jazeera reported that Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, left Saudi Arabia on Tuesday after holding mediation talks with the Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz to try to defuse an escalating crisis between Arab countries and Qatar. No details were given on the talks.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, analyst Giorgio Cafiero of Gulf State Analytics, a geopolitical risk consultancy based in Washington, DC, said: "I think the Kuwaitis as well as Omanis … fear the prospects of these tensions escalating in ways which could undermine the interest of all six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).”
“There are many analysts who believe that a potential break-up of the GCC has to be considered right now.”
“If these countries fail to resolve their issues and such tensions reach new heights, we have to be very open to the possibility of these six Arab countries no longer being able to unite under the banner of one council,” said Cafiero.
He added that if tension escalates, some have warned of a “military confrontation.”
Meanwhile, Iran Font Page reports that Sky News Arabia later denied its own report, saying no condition has been set and no ultimatum has been given by Saudi Arabia.
On Monday, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain, the Maldives and a number of other Muslim states cut off diplomatic ties with the Doha government, saying they will suspend air, sea and land transport with Qatar. They have accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region.
Qatar has rejected the accusations, calling them “unjustified” and “baseless.”
