FM, Germany counterpart talk Arab dispute with Qatar

CAIRO – 1 July 2017: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry received a phone call from his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel to discuss the dispute between the Arab countries and Qatar, said Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid in a statement on Saturday.

Gabriel was keen to listen to Egypt’s stance towards the Qatari crisis, Abu zeid added, noting that Shoukry has extensively discussed the reasons behind severing the Egyptian ties with Qatar.

Shoukry also discussed the losses Egypt suffered due to the Qatari interference into the Egyptian domestic affairs over the past few years, Abu Zeid continued.
The German minister added that he would make anther phone call with Shoukry after his Gulf tour, Abu Zeid said.

It is scheduled that Gabriel will make a tour in the Gulf States, where he will discuss the Qatari crisis this week, Kuwait News Agency reported on Friday.

The German Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Saturday on the phone call, saying both ministers agreed to “stay in close contact”.

Arab and Gulf countries , mainly Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain, severed their ties with Qatar over accusations of “supporting terrorist group.”

The four countries also have sent Doha an ultimatum of 13-point demands that should be carried out in 10 days to end this stand-off.

They also labeled a total of 59 individuals and 12 organizations, have ties with Qatar, as “terrorists”, and had closed their airspace and maritime navigation for the Qatari transportation early June.

However, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said on Saturday that the Arab countries’ 13 demands are against the international law, adding that such demands have been received, but they will be rejected, Al-Khaleej Online reported.