Qatar’s Foreign Minister HE Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani has rejected a list of demands submitted by four Arab countries that have cut ties with it as unacceptable as they are not backed by evidence.
Talking to Al Jazeera after meeting his US counterpart Rex Tillerson in Washington, Sheikh Mohamed said that Doha agreed with the United States that they should push for a “rational” solution to the major Gulf crisis.
The comments by Sheikh Mohamed yesterday followed an earlier statement by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir who said that there will be no negotiations over his country’s demand that Qatar stops supporting “terrorism” - an allegation Doha strongly denies.
“What has been presented by the countries of the blockade are merely claims that are not proved by evidence and are not demands,” said Sheikh Mohamed. “Negotiations require a real will by the other party and evidence to support its demands.”
He added: “The demands must be realistic and enforceable. Anything else is rejected ... We agree with Washington that the demands should be rational.”
The US, which urges a diplomatic solution to the crisis, has been pushing for a clear list of grievances that are “reasonable and actionable”.
Later yesterday, Tillerson was slated to meet with Kuwaiti Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Acting Minister of Information Sheikh Mohamed Abdullah al-Sabah and attend a working dinner, hosted by Kuwaiti ambassador to the US Salem Abdullah al-Jaber al-Sabah in honour of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in Washington.
Al Jazeera’s James Bays, reporting from Washington, DC, said that the Qatari government’s position that these demands could not be met by Doha was, in a way, also backed by Heather Nauert, the US State Department spokesperson, who told reporters that “some of them will be difficult for Qatar to incorporate and to try to adhere to”.
Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel appealed to all sides to hold direct talks to avoid a further escalation, and urged Iran to play a constructive role.
“The longer the crisis around Qatar continues, the deeper and stronger the lines of conflict will become,” Gabriel told reporters after a 90-minute meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif in Berlin.
“We hope that there soon can be direct discussion among all those involved because a further escalation will serve no one.”
Zarif said Iran was interested in working towards a political solution to the conflict with Qatar, arguing that “pressure and sanctions and blockades” were not the answer.
Gabriel said he viewed the Arab list of demands on Qatar as the “starting point of negotiations, not the end”.




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