Qatar facing further isolation, expulsion from GCC bloc

Four Arab states broke off diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing Doha of aiding terrorism and courting Iran.

Qatar faces further isolation and possible expulsion from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a regional economic and security cooperation body founded in 1981, if its response to the demands fails to satisfy the Arab states meeting in Cairo.
Four Arab states broke off diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing Doha of aiding terrorism and courting Iran.
Regional newspapers with links to their governments suggested the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain might be ill-inclined to accept Qatar's response to a list of 13 demands. The four Arab foreign ministers met in Cairo to weigh possible further sanctions against Qatar on Wednesday.
The Dubai-based Al Bayan newspaper said in an editorial that all indications suggested Qatar had "belittled joint Gulf action and the Arab block".
"Doha chose to enter into a dark tunnel... We are today at a new situation after the Qatari rejection, and it is a rejection that will not pass without a price, and Qatar alone bears responsibility for this reaction."
The editor of the Abu Dhabi government-linked Al Ittihad newspaper wrote that Qatar, with a population of two million compared to Saudi Arabia's 31 million, was "walking alone in its dreams and illusions, far away from its Gulf Arab brothers".
Qatar's response to the demands has not been made public.
Qatar has already made clear that, while seeking settlement, it is preparing for a more protracted dispute. Doha announced on Tuesday it planned to raise Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) production capacity by 30 per cent in the next five years.
The Arab countries have demanded Qatar curtail its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, shut down the pan-Arab Al Jazeera TV channel, close down a Turkish military base and downgrade its ties with regional arch-rival Iran.
"We do not understand the Qatari intransigence which is built on the principle of sovereignty that has been repeated in every reaction issued by Doha," said the Arabic-language Al Riyadh newspaper, which reflects Saudi government thinking.
"The Gulf requirements did not impact on the Qatari sovereignty at all, but only asked that Qatar stops interference in their internal affairs."

• Qatar Crisis