UAE "still awaiting" for Qatar to respond to Arab demandsJuly 4, 2017 - 17:58 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - United Arab Emirates foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan said on Tuesday, July 4 that Arab countries boycotting Qatar over its alleged support for terrorism were still awaiting a response to their demands via mediator Kuwait, Reuters reports. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt are pressing Qatar to shut its Al Jazeera news TV station and scale back relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia's arch-rival in the Gulf region, part of 13 demands they want Doha to fulfill to end the crisis. Qatar has said it delivered a response to mediator Kuwait, which will be discussed by the four countries at a meeting in Cairo on Wednesday after their deadline for Doha to accept the demands expires late on Tuesday. "We are still waiting for the response from our brothers in Kuwait regarding the response that they received from Qatar and once we examine it among ourselves we will take the decision of course," Sheikh Abdullah said at a news conference with his German counterpart in Abu Dhabi. Officials from the UAE and Saudi Arabia have suggested that further sanctions, including the possibility of kicking out Qatar from the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, could be imposed if Doha failed to heed the demands. Asked about any further sanctions, Sheikh Abdullah advised caution. "I think it is premature to talk about the extra sanctions and steps and procedures to be taken by these countries," he said. "This depends on what we will hear from our brothers in Kuwait and the dialogue and conversations among ourselves and the examination of these responses." Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. |