Qatar to respond after Arab nations extend deadline

Four Arab states agreed to extend until late on Tuesday a deadline for Qatar to comply with a list of demands, as US President Donald Trump reiterated the cessation of funding for terrorism is his prime concern.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE have raised the possibility of further sanctions against Qatar if it does not comply with the 13 demands presented to Doha through Kuwait.
The demands included Doha ending support for the Muslim Brotherhood, closing broadcaster Al Jazeera, downgrading diplomatic ties with Iran and shutting down a Turkish military base.
According to a joint statement on Saudi state news agency SPA, the four countries agreed to a request by the Kuwait Amir, His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, to extend by 48 hours Sunday's deadline for compliance.
Kuwaiti state media reported that Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani had submitted to Kuwait Doha's formal response to the Arab states' demands. Details of the response were not immediately available, but a Gulf official told AFP that the Qatari foreign minister had delivered it during a short visit to Kuwait.
Foreign ministers from the four states will meet in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss Qatar, Egypt said.
Trump spoke separately on Sunday to the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of UAE Armed Forces, to discuss his "concerns about the ongoing dispute", the White House said.
"He reiterated the importance of stopping terrorist financing and discrediting extremist ideology. The president also underscored that unity in the region is critical to accomplishing the Riyadh Summit's goals of defeating terrorism and promoting regional stability," it said.
"President Trump, nevertheless, believes that the overriding objective of his initiative is the cessation of funding for terrorism," the White House added.
A State Department official said on Sunday that the US encouraged "all parties to exercise restraint to allow for productive diplomatic discussions".
Gulf states accuse Al Jazeera of being a platform for extremists and an agent of interference in their affairs. Gulf countries have insisted that their demands are non-negotiable.
Qataris are waiting anxiously for a resolution of the conflict. Shopping for groceries in a Doha mall, Qatari Abdul Aziz Al Horr, who works in business education, said he hoped no new sanctions were coming.
"Any escalation will be something that is not for the good of anybody," he said.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who on Monday starts a tour of several Gulf states, called for "serious dialogue" to end the crisis.
"We are worried that the distrust and the disunity could weaken all the parties concerned as well as the entire peninsula," said Gabriel, who will visit Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar.
The German government also announced that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, had cancelled plans to attend this week's G20 summit in Hamburg.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com