Some Arab Nations' Demands 'Challenging' for Qatar - State Department

Some of the demands put forward by Arabs states in a 13-point ultimatum will be challenging for Qatar to implement, State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a briefing on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On Friday, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt handed a 13-point ultimatum to Qatar. The list contains demands Doha needs to meet in order to restore ties with other Arab nations.

The ultimatum demands that Qatar, among other things, cut its ties with Iran, close a Turkish military base on its soil and shut down Al Jazeera and its affiliates. Other demands call on Doha to publically denounce relations with Islamist groups, end suspected financing of terrorism and hand over persons designated as terrorists by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt. Moreover, Qatar is demanded to pay financial compensation, although the sum was not reported.

"Some of them will be difficult for Qatar to incorporate and to try to adhere to," Nauert stated.

On June 5, a number of countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and embargoed all sea, air and land traffic to the country, accusing Doha of supporting terrorist groups, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist movement, as well as of interfering in other countries' domestic affairs. Several other states in the region have reduced diplomatic relations with the country. Kuwait and Oman are the only members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) not to join the blockade.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry rejected the accusations of Doha's interference in other countries' domestic affairs and expressed regret over the decision of the Gulf States to cut off diplomatic ties with it.