THE GULF CRISIS:

QATAR REFUSES TO PLAY BALL

Although Qatar wants to talk to its neighbours, the country has refused to be intimidated by them.  It has refused to bow to a list of stringent demands.  The original deadline given to the Gulf state has now expired.  The country has been given a new deadline.

The power houses of the Gulf : Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates sometime ago gave Qatar a list of 13 demands.  The most important of these is stopping the funding of terrorism.  The demands specified that the country would face sanctions if it failed to comply.

The leaders of the Gulf states

Threatened measures include Qatar's expulsion from the Gulf Cooperation Council(GCC).  Other Gulf states would also force trading partners to choose between doing business with Qatar or the rest of its Gulf partners.

Some foreign powers, Britain included, welcomed the extension of the deadline given to Qatar and called for dialogue to restore GCC unity.
Qatar has denied having ties with Islamic State and al-Qaeda.  They have refused to act against Muslim Brotherhood and have balked at demands to close Al Jazeera.

Qatari officials have however said that the level of international pressure made them increasingly confident of a dialogue despite Saudi Arabia's insistence that its demands were non-negotiable.