MOSCOW (Sputnik) – On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain added nine entities in Yemen and Libya and nine persons from Qatar, Yemen, and Kuwait over alleged ties to Qatar and support for terrorists, including the al-Qaeda terror group.
"It comes as a disappointing surprise that the blockading countries are still pursuing this story as part of their smear campaign against Qatar," Al Thani said in a statement quoted by the Al Jazeera broadcaster.
The Qatari official noted the latest list showed the four Arab countries were "not committed to the fight against terrorism."
In June, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt broke off diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism and interfering in their internal affairs. Doha has rejected the allegations as baseless.
Kuwait, acting as a mediator in the crisis, handed over the four Arab states' ultimatum of demands for Doha. The list included requests to sever relations with Iran, close Turkey’s military base on Qatar's territory, shut down the Al Jazeera TV channel, and end support for the Muslim Brotherhood, a terrorist organization banned in Russia. Doha has refused to comply with the demands.