ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday dismissed calls for Turkey to close a military base in Qatar and said a wider list of demands issued by four Arab states was an unlawful intervention against the Gulf state’s sovereignty.

In his strongest statement of support for Qatar in the nearly three-week-old crisis centered on the Gulf state, Erdogan said the call to withdraw Turkish forces was disrespectful and that Doha - which described the demands as unreasonable - was taking the right approach.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain imposed a boycott on June 5 on Qatar and issued 13 demands including closing Al Jazeera television, curbing relations with Iran, shutting the Turkish base and paying reparations.

Doha said it was reviewing the list, but said it was not reasonable or actionable.

“We approve and appreciate the attitude of Qatar against the list of 13 demands,” Erdogan, speaking outside a mosque in Istanbul, said. “...This approach of 13 demands is against international law because you cannot attack or intervene in the sovereignty of a country.”

Bahrain’s foreign minister said on Sunday that outside interference would not solve the problem.

“It is in the interest of these powers to respect the existing regional order which is capable of solving any issue that may arise,” Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa said in a message on Twitter, without naming Turkey.

The 13 demands are apparently aimed at dismantling Qatar’s interventionist foreign policy which has incensed conservative Arab peers over its alleged support for Islamists they regard as threats to their dynastic rule.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan talks to media after the Eid al-Fitr prayers in Istanbul, Turkey, June 25, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer

Qatar along with Turkey, whose ruling AK Party has its roots in Islamist politics, backed a Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt before it was overthrown in 2013. The Arab states have demanded Qatar cut any links to the Brotherhood and other groups they deem to be terrorist, ideological or sectarian.

“NO PULLOUT”

Turkey, the most powerful regional country to stand by Qatar, has sent 100 cargo planes with supplies since its neighbors cut air and sea links. It has also rushed through legislation to send more troops to its base in Doha.

Two contingents of Turkish troops with columns of armored vehicles have arrived since the crisis erupted on June 5, and Defence Minister Fikri Isik said on Friday that further reinforcements would be beneficial.

“The strengthening of the Turkish base would be a positive step in terms of the Gulf’s security,” he said. “Re-evaluating the base agreement with Qatar is not on our agenda.”

Hurriyet newspaper said last week a joint exercise by Turkish and Qatari forces was expected following the Islamic Eid al-Fitr holiday which started on Sunday, and the number of Turkish soldiers sent to the Gulf state could eventually reach 1,000. An air force contingent was also envisaged, it said.

Erdogan said Turkey had also offered to establish a military base in Saudi Arabia, but never received a clear answer.

“If Saudi Arabia wants us to have base there, a step towards this also can be taken,” he told reporters. “I made this offer to the king himself and they said they will consider this.”

Slideshow (7 Images)

“They did not come back to us since that day and even though they still didn’t come back to us on this, asking Turkey to pull back its troops (from Qatar) is disrespectful against Turkey.”

Speaking outside the Istanbul mosque after prayers marking the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday, Erdogan said he would continue his planned program despite feeling briefly unwell.

“I had a little condition about my blood pressure, related to my diabetes,” he said.</s>The Bahraini news agency published the list of demands which Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt handed over to Qatar via Kuwait.



According to BNA, Qatar was requested to decrease diplomatic representation with Iran and curb ties with it, expel revolutionary guards from Qatar, limit relations with Iran to commercial trade without violating the sanctions imposed on Iran and without violating the security of Gulf Cooperation Council countries and sever any military or intelligence cooperation with Tehran.



The demands also called on Qatar to immediately shut down the Turkish military base which is being built in Qatar and to suspend any military cooperation with Turkey inside Qatar.



They also include severing all relations with terrorist, sectarian and ideological organizations, primarily those which threaten Bahrain, and other organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS, al-Qaeda, Fatah al-Sham, formerly known as Al-Nusra Front, and the Lebanese Hezbollah Party and listing them as terrorist entities and including them as terrorist organizations in any future lists.



Qatar was also demanded to suspend all forms of funding to terrorist or extremist individuals, entities or organizations and to all those included in the Saudi, Emirati, Bahraini and Egyptian terror lists and in the American and international lists and to surrender all figures designated as terrorist by these lists while holding their property until they’re handed over.



They also demanded Qatar not to host any of these designated terrorists in the future and to commit to providing information about them, such as information on their activity, residence and finances. This is in addition to demands to shut down Al-Jazeera television channels and all channels affiliated with it.



Qatar was also ordered to stop interfering in other countries’ internal affairs and foreign interests and refrain from granting the Qatari nationality to any Saudi, Bahraini, Egyptian and Emirati citizenship and extradite all those who had been granted a Qatari nationality via procedure which does not comply with these four countries’ regulations.



They also demanded Qatar to submit a list of those who have been granted a citizenship from these four countries and to submit all previous information about cooperation between Qatar and those naturalized.



The demands also include submitting all data about the opposition figures that Qatar supported and shutting down all media outlets which Qatar directly or indirectly supports.



The four countries called on Qatar to be in harmony with its Arab and Gulf surrounding on the military, political, economic, social and security levels in order to guarantee security and to activate the Riyadh 2013 agreement and the Riyadh 2014 agreement.



According to BNA, these demands are somehow similar to the Riyadh agreement which Qatar signed in 2014. Its report concluded that Doha thus has no justifications to reject these demands.



Last Update: Sunday, 25 June 2017 KSA 10:07 - GMT 07:07</s>Qatar has rejected a list of demands submitted by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, calling it “neither reasonable nor actionable”, Al Jazeera reported on Saturday. The list was received by Qatar’s ministry of foreign affairs on June 22, Al Jazeera said quoting the state-run Qatar News Agency.

“This list of demands confirms what Qatar has said from the beginning – the illegal blockade has nothing to do with combating terrorism, it is about limiting Qatar’s sovereignty, and outsourcing our foreign policy,” said Sheikh Saif al-Thani, the director of Qatar’s government communications office, in a statement to Reuters. He added that the list provided did not satisfy the criteria set by the United States and Britain, who had asked for demands that would be realistic.

Qatar also said it is reviewing the demands and is preparing an official response to them. Qatar will hand over its response to Kuwait, which is mediating the crisis, the Qatar News Agency said, citing a statement by the ministry of foreign affairs.

Qatar’s ambassador to the US, Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani, also criticised the list of demands, calling it an attempt to “suppress free media and freedom of speech” and “infringe upon our sovereignity and punish Qatar for its independence”.

The list presented to Qatar by the Arab countries demanded that it cut ties with Iran, hand over extremists and shut down Al Jazeera. It also demanded compensation and called for an end to Turkey’s military presence in Qatar, among other things.

On June 5, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt had severed diplomatic relations with Qatar accusing it of backing terrorism. Other countries in the region had followed. US President Donald Trump had supported the action, but Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had called for mediation and a quick resolution of the dispute.</s>BEIRUT -- Saudi Arabia and three other Arab countries that recently cut diplomatic ties with Qatar issued a harsh list of demands Friday, insisting that the wealthy but tiny Persian Gulf nation shut down the news broadcaster Al-Jazeera, abandon ties with Islamist organizations and provide detailed information about its funding for political dissidents.

Qatar insisted Friday it can indefinitely survive the economic and diplomatic steps its neighbors have taken to try to pressure it into compliance, even as a top Emirati official warned the country to brace for a long-term economic squeeze.

The demands, presented to Qatar through mediators from Kuwait, called on the country to shut down a Turkish military base and downgrade its ties with Iran -- a difficult task given that Iran and Qatar share a large gas field that provides much of Qatar's wealth.

The demands signaled an escalation in the deepest political crisis among Arab Gulf countries in years, after nations including Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut economic, diplomatic and travel ties with Qatar this month, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

Given 10 days to make a decision, Qatar did not immediately render judgment on the specific concessions demanded of it. But Qatari officials didn't budge from their previous insistence that they won't sit down with Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations to negotiate an end to the crisis while under siege.

"I can assure you that our situation today is very comfortable," Qatari Ambassador to the U.S. Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani said. "Qatar could continue forever like that with no problems."

Asked whether Qatar felt pressure to resolve the crisis quickly, he said: "Not at all."

Qatar's neighbors insisted the 13-point list of demands was their bottom line, not a starting point for negotiations. The Arab countries signaled that if Qatar refuses to comply, they will continue to restrict its access to land, sea and air routes indefinitely amid mounting economic pressure on the Gulf nation.

"The measures that have been taken are there to stay until there is a long-term solution to the issue," said Yousef al-Otaiba, ambassador to the U.S. from the United Arab Emirates.

Still, he suggested the penalties would only be economic and diplomatic, adding, "There is no military element to this whatsoever."

The demands from Qatar's neighbors amount to a call for a sweeping overhaul of Qatar's foreign policy and natural gas-funded influence peddling in the region. Complying would force Qatar to bring its policies in line with the regional vision of Saudi Arabia, the Middle East's biggest economy and gatekeeper of Qatar's only land border.

Al-Jazeera, one of the Arab world's most widely watched satellite news channels, denounced the demand for its closure as an attack on journalism. In a statement posted on its website, Al-Jazeera said the Saudis and their partners were trying to "silence the freedom of expression in the region and to suppress people's right to information and the right to be heard."

All of the nations involved are U.S. allies, and Qatar and Bahrain host large U.S. military bases. Analysts have accused President Donald Trump's administration of sending mixed signals, exacerbating the rift.

After the Arab nations announced that they were cutting ties with Qatar, Trump posted his support on Twitter and even suggested he had been responsible for the move.

But that did not stop his administration from signing a previously approved deal for Qatar to buy $12 billion of U.S. F-15 fighter jets.

Though the demands include conditions that Qatar already has insisted it would never meet, the list answers the growing call from the United States and from Qatar for the countries to put their grievances in writing.

As the crisis has dragged on, U.S. diplomats have complained privately that the Arab nations were taking too long to present their demands, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said they must be "reasonable and actionable."

That call appeared to have been roundly ignored, and the list sidestepped U.S. negotiating efforts.

"This is an Arab issue that requires an Arab solution," Otaiba said. "That's why the Kuwaitis will take the lead in the negotiation."

That's just fine, the U.S. said. At the White House, spokesman Sean Spicer called it a "family issue" for the Arab nations and declined to say whether the newly articulated demands were legitimate.

"This is something that they want to and should work out for themselves," Spicer said.

Qatar has historically played a maverick role in the Gulf Cooperation Council, a regional group that also includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It maintains ties with a range of Islamist groups throughout the region, relationships that other countries have found useful when negotiating hostage releases but have complained about when those groups challenge their rule.

Qatar has also opened its doors to members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates consider a terrorist organization; to members of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group; and to the Afghan Taliban. It has also financed Al-Jazeera, which is often critical of Qatar's rivals.

Those stances have rankled others in the region, like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. And Qatar's support for the Arab Spring uprisings and for the Muslim Brotherhood have angered countries including Egypt.

Other nations, like Turkey, have stood up for Qatar.

The Turkish defense minister, Fikri Isik, rejected the demand that Qatar close the Turkish military base and suggested that Turkey would enhance its presence there as a show of support.

"Strengthening the Turkish base would be a positive step in terms of the Gulf's security," he said, according to Reuters. "Re-evaluating the base agreement with Qatar is not on our agenda."

Information for this article was contributed by Ben Hubbard of The New York Times; and by Adam Schreck, Josh Lederman and Suzan Fraser of The Associated Press.</s>ISTANBUL, June 25 (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday dismissed calls for Turkey to close a military base in Qatar and said a wider list of demands issued by four Arab states was an unlawful intervention against the Gulf emirate's sovereignty.

In his strongest statement of support for Qatar in the nearly three-week-old crisis centred on the Gulf state, Erdogan said the call to withdraw Turkish forces was disrespectful and that Doha - which described the demands as unreasonable - was taking the right approach.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain imposed a boycott on June 5 on Qatar and issued 13 demands including closing Al Jazeera television, curbing relations with Iran, shutting the Turkish base and paying reparations.

Doha said it was reviewing the list, but said it was not reasonable or actionable.

"We approve and appreciate the attitude of Qatar against the list of 13 demands," Erdogan, speaking outside a mosque in Istanbul, said. "...This approach of 13 demands is against international law because you cannot attack or intervene in the sovereignty of a country."

The demands are apparently aimed at dismantling Qatar's interventionist foreign policy which has incensed conservative Arab peers over its alleged support for Islamists they regard as threats to their dynastic rule.

Both Qatar and Turkey, whose ruling AK Party has its roots in Islamist politics, backed a Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt before it was overthrown in 2013. The Arab states have demanded Qatar cut any links to the Brotherhood and other groups they deem to be terrorist, ideological or sectarian.

Bahrain's state news agency on Sunday confirmed the demands set out by un-named Gulf officials on Friday, including that Qatar close the Turkish base, end military cooperation with Ankara inside Qatar and stop supporting militant groups.

"The demands aim to achieve regional countries' stability, stand firmly against foreign interference and stop support for terrorist organisations," it said.

Turkey, the most powerful regional country to stand by Qatar, has sent 100 cargo planes with supplies since its neighbours cut air and sea links. It has also rushed through legislation to send more troops to its base in Doha.

Two contingents of Turkish troops with columns of armoured vehicles have arrived since the crisis erupted on June 5, and Defence Minister Fikri Isik said on Friday that further reinforcements would be beneficial.

"The strengthening of the Turkish base would be a positive step in terms of the Gulf's security," he said. "Re-evaluating the base agreement with Qatar is not on our agenda."

Hurriyet newspaper said last week a joint exercise by Turkish and Qatari forces was expected following the Islamic Eid al-Fitr holiday which started on Sunday, and the number of Turkish soldiers sent to the Gulf state could eventually reach 1,000. An air force contingent was also envisaged, it said.

Erdogan said Turkey had also offered to establish a military base in Saudi Arabia, but never received a clear answer.

"If Saudi Arabia wants us to have base there, a step towards this also can be taken," he told reporters. "I made this offer to the king himself and they said they will consider this."

"They did not come back to us since that day and even though they still didn't come back to us on this, asking Turkey to pull back its troops (from Qatar) is disrespectful against Turkey".

Speaking outside the Istanbul mosque after prayers marking the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday, Erdogan said he would continue his planned programme despite feeling briefly unwell.

"I had a little condition about my blood pressure, related to my diabetes," he said. (Additional reporting by Mohammed el Sherif in Cairo; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Robert Birsel and Jane Merriman)</s>DUBAI: Turkey on Friday rejected a key demand by several Arab states involved in a major dispute with Qatar, saying Ankara has no plans to shut down its military base in the small Gulf country.

The demand that Turkey pull out its forces was one of a steep list of ultimatums from Saudi Arabia and others Qatari neighbors that includes shuttering broadcaster Al-Jazeera, curbing back diplomatic relations with Iran and severing all ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the 13-point list in Arabic from one of the countries involved in the dispute.

Qatar has confirmed receiving the list Thursday from Kuwait, which is mediating the dispute, but has not yet commented on them.

Rather than focus narrowly on alleged Qatari financing for extremism, the 13-point catalog of demands illustrates the sweeping change in direction that Qatar's neighbors are insisting the tiny, gas-rich nation must undertake to align itself with Saudi Arabia's broader vision for the region. Though Qatar is likely to reject it, the list answers the growing call from the United States and from Qatar for the countries to put their grievances in writing.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain broke ties with Qatar and restricted access to land, sea and air routes earlier this month over allegations it funds terrorism — an accusation Doha rejects but that President Donald Trump has echoed. The move has left Qatar, whose only land border is shared with Saudi Arabia, under a de facto blockade by its neighbors.

Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik said on Friday that the Turkish base aims to train Qatari soldiers and increase the tiny Persian Gulf nation's security. According to the Milliyet newspaper's online edition, he also said that "no one should be disturbed by" the Turkish presence in Qatar.

Turkey has sided with Qatar in the dispute and its parliament has ratified legislation allowing the deployment of Turkish troops to the base. The military said a contingent of 23 soldiers reached Doha on Thursday.

Qatar has insisted its neighbors are trying to force it to bend to their will on a much broader set of issues, and as the crisis has dragged on, the U.S. has started publicly questioning whether ulterior motives are involved.

Earlier this week, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned the demands must be "reasonable and actionable." The U.S. issued that litmus test amid frustration at how long it was taking Saudi Arabia and others to formalize a list of demands, complicating U.S. efforts to bring about a resolution to the worst Gulf diplomatic crisis in years.

Qatar vehemently denies funding or supporting extremism. But the country acknowledges that it allows members of some extremist groups such as Hamas to reside in Qatar, arguing that fostering dialogue with those groups is key to resolving global conflicts.

According to the list, Qatar must stop granting citizenship to wanted nationals from the four countries and revoke citizenship for existing nationals from those countries where it violates their laws. In addition, Qatar must pay an unspecified sum in reparations. It has been given 10 days to comply with all of the demands.

Underscoring the growing seriousness of the crisis, state-run Qatar Petroleum acknowledged early Friday that some critically important employees "may have been asked to postpone" trips abroad "for operational reasons" as a result of the embargo.

It described the move as "a very limited measure that could take place in any oil and gas operating company" to ensure uninterrupted energy supplies to customers.

Under Qatari law, foreigners working in the country must secure their employer's consent to receive an exit permit allowing them to leave. The practice, which has been in place for years, has been assailed by rights groups who say it limits workers' freedom of movement and leaves them open to abuse.

Qatari officials in Doha did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the AP. But the list included conditions that the gas-rich nation had already insisted would never be met, including shutting down Al-Jazeera. The network also had no immediate comment.

"At the moment, there is no likelihood of bringing the matter back to the table," said Isik, the Turkish defense minister.

Qatar's neighbors are also demanding that it hand over all individuals who are wanted by those four countries for terrorism; stop funding any extremist entities that are designated as terrorist groups by the U.S.; and provide detailed information about opposition figures that Qatar has funded, ostensibly in Saudi Arabia and the other nations.

Qatar's neighbors have also accused it of backing al-Qaida and the Islamic State group's ideology throughout the Middle East. Those umbrella groups also appear on the list of entities whose ties with Qatar must be extinguished, along with Lebanon's Hezbollah and the al-Qaida branch in Syria, once known as the Nusra Front.

More broadly, the list demands that Qatar align itself politically, economically and otherwise with the Gulf Cooperation Council, a regional club that has focused on countering the influence of Iran. Saudi Arabia and other Sunni-led nations have accused Qatar of inappropriately close ties to Iran, a Shiite-led country and Saudi Arabia's regional foe.

The Iran provisions in the document say Qatar must shut down diplomatic posts in Iran, kick out from Qatar any members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, and only conduct trade and commerce with Iran that complies with U.S. and international sanctions. Under the 2015 nuclear deal, nuclear-related sanctions on Iran were eased but other sanctions remain in place.

The Revolutionary Guard has deployed its forces to conflict zones such as Syria and Iraq. It is not known to have a presence in Qatar.

Cutting ties to Iran would prove incredibly difficult. Qatar shares a massive offshore natural gas field with Iran which supplies the small nation that will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup its wealth.

Also, not only must Qatar shut down the Doha-based satellite broadcaster, the list says, but also all of its affiliates. That presumably would mean Qatar would have to close down Al-Jazeera's English-language sister network.

Supported by Qatar's government, Al-Jazeera is one of the most widely watched Arabic channels, but it has long drawn the ire of Mideast governments for airing alternative viewpoints. The network's critics say it advances Qatar's goals by promoting Islamist movements like the Muslim Brotherhood that pose a populist threat to rulers in other Arab countries.

The list also demands that Qatar stop funding a host of other news outlets including Arabi21, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed and Middle East Eye.

Beirut-based political analyst George Alam said Qatar is unlikely to agree to the demands.

"They are impossible to be met because they interfere in Qatar's foreign policy and Qatar considers its foreign policy a sovereign matter that is nonnegotiable, he said.

If Qatar agrees to comply, the list asserts that it will be audited once a month for the first year, and then once per quarter in the second year after it takes effect. For the following 10 years, Qatar would be monitored annually for compliance.</s>ISTANBUL: Turkey's president on Sunday rejected a demand by major Arab states to remove Turkish troops from Qatar , among a sweeping list of ultimatums that the United States has described as "difficult to meet.''Speaking after Eid al-Fitr prayers in Istanbul, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the demand to pull the Turkish troops "disrespectful'' and said his country would not seek permission from others when making its defense cooperation agreements."Demanding that Turkey pull its soldiers is unfortunately also disrespectful toward Turkey,'' he said.He said Turkey would continue to support Qatar against the many sanctions it has faced since several Arab countries moved earlier this month to isolate the country for its alleged support of terrorism . Turkey shipped suppliers and food via cargo planes to Qatar after its neighbors closed down air, land and sea routes.The United States said the demands on Qatar by its Mideast neighbors ``will be very difficult to meet.'' But the U.S. isn't rejecting the demands outright.Secretary of State Rex Tillerson added in a statement Sunday, however, that the list of demands from Saudi Arabia , Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates includes major areas that ``provide a basis for ongoing dialogue leading to a resolution.''He called on the Arab countries to ``sit together'' with Qatar to work through what he hoped would be ``reasonable and actionable'' demands.In a sign of support, the Turkish parliament swiftly ratified a 2014 military agreement with Qatar earlier this month, allowing the deployment of troops to its base there. The military said a contingent of 23 soldiers reached Doha on Thursday. Turkey has also shipped supplies and food via cargo planes afterErdogan said he made a similar offer to Saudi Arabia to set up a base there in the past but did not hear back from the king.A Turkish foreign ministry statement Sunday reiterated that the deployment of Turkish troops in Qatar contributed to regional security and was not aimed at a specific country."Just like the presence of other foreign military bases or units in other countries of the region, our military presence in Qatar is principally based on a decision taken by the two countries relying on their sovereign rights,'' ministry spokesman Huseyin Muftuoglu said.Doha received a 13-point list from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain that included demands to shut down the media network Al-Jazeera and cut ties with Islamist groups including the Muslim Brotherhood. The energy-rich country said it was reviewing the ultimatum but added it would not negotiate under siege.Turkey's president said his country "admires and embraces'' Qatar's attitude, while slamming the demands by arguing they contradict international law."Here we see an attack against a state's sovereignty rights,'' Erdogan said.Erdogan called the demand that Qatar shut down Al-Jazeera an attempt to take away the network's press freedom and urged rights groups to speak out against that.Erdogan spoke to journalists after experiencing a diabetes-related blood pressure problem during prayers marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan</s>The Abu Samrah border crossing with Saudi Arabia has been quiet since Qatar's neighbours cut ties as part of a major diplomatic row (AFP Photo/KARIM JAAFAR)

Doha (AFP) - Qatar on Saturday confirmed it had received a 13-point list of demands from Saudi-led allies in a major escalation of the ongoing diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.

The list -- which apparently includes a call for Qatar to close down broadcaster Al-Jazeera -- are the demands that Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt want met to end a diplomatic and trade "blockade" of Qatar, lasting almost three weeks.

Doha has been told that it faces "divorce" from its Gulf neighbours unless it takes their demands seriously.

As the crisis deepened and the United Nations offered to help resolve the regional diplomatic row, Qatar said it had received the list of demands from its neighbouring countries.

"Qatar announced its receipt of a paper, on June 22, containing demands from the seige countries and Egypt," read a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, published in the early hours of Saturday morning local time.

"The State of Qatar is currently studying this paper, the demands contained therein and the foundations on which they were based, in order to prepare an appropriate response."

As well as the closure of Al-Jazeera, a long-standing source of conflict between Doha and neighbouring countries which accuse it of fomenting regional strife, the wide-reaching list makes other demands on Qatar.

These include calls for Doha to cut any ties to groups including the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic State organisation, Al-Qaeda and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.

Qatar has also been asked to hand over opposition figures wanted by its three neighbours and Egypt, downgrade diplomatic ties with Iran and shut a Turkish military base in the emirate.

Al-Jazeera has denounced the move as an attack on media freedom.

However, Anwar Gargash, the UAE's state minister for foreign affairs, who is due to hold a press conference on Saturday, said Qatar should cede to the demands.

"It would be wiser that (Qatar) deal seriously with the demands and concerns of the neighbours or a divorce will take place," he wrote on Twitter.​

The demands confirm that "the crisis is profound," Gargash added.

The list of demands was given to Qatar by Kuwait, which is acting as a mediator in the dispute, the worst diplomatic crisis to hit the region in years.

A statement from Kuwait's state-run KUNA agency said Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah had also held calls with the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE on Friday as the diplomatic push continued.

Qatar is the world's leading exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hosts the biggest American airbase in the Middle East.

Gargash accused Qatar of leaking the document containing the demands by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, which cut diplomatic ties and accused Qatar of sponsoring terrorism.

Al-Jazeera, one of the largest news organisations in the world, said that it "deplores" calls for it to be taken off air.

"We in the network believe that any call for closing down Al-Jazeera is nothing but an attempt to silence the freedom of expression in the region and to suppress people's right to information," the broadcaster said in a statement.

Al-Jazeera English's managing director, Giles Trendle, said it was like "Germany demanding Britain to close down the BBC", in a video posted on social media.

Qatar is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

On June 5, Saudi Arabia and the UAE led a severing of all links with Qatar for allegedly supporting groups, including some backed by Iran, "that aim to destabilise the region".

Other allies, including Egypt and Bahrain, followed.

Saudi Arabia regularly accuses Iran, its regional rival, of interference throughout the Middle East.

A statement from Qatar's government communication's office early on Saturday, said the existence of the list "confirmed" Qatar's fears the dispite was about limiting its sovereignty and "outsourcing our foreign policy".

As well as cutting diplomatic ties, Qatar's neighbours closed their air space to Qatari carriers and blocked the emirate's only land border, vital for its food imports.

Qatar's Human Rights Committee said the demands represented "gross violations" of basic rights.

In Qatar, the hashtag "the list is rejected" trended in Arabic on social media. Gargash though said: "The brother (Qatar) must realise that the solution for its crisis lies not in Tehran or Beirut or Ankara or Western capitals or in media outlets, but in regaining the trust of its neighbours," he said. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday that Washington had been pushing for a clear list of grievances that are "reasonable and actionable". "Our role has been to encourage the parties to get their issues on the table, clearly articulated, so that those issues can be addressed and some resolution process can get underway to bring this to a conclusion," he said. His spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Tuesday the United States was "mystified" that Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies had failed to present details justifying their embargo on Qatar. US President Donald Trump, however, has made statements siding with Saudi Arabia in the crisis.</s>The Arab countries isolating Qatar do not seek to force out the country's leadership but are willing to cut ties if it does not agree to their demands, a top United Arab Emirates official has said.

Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in Dubai that his country and its allies, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain, do not want "regime change" in Qatar but "behavioural change".

The four countries presented a 13-point list of demands to Qatar through mediator Kuwait on Thursday and gave it 10 days to comply.

Qatar says it is reviewing the ultimatum, which includes demands to shut Al Jazeera, cut ties with Islamist groups including the Muslim Brotherhood, and curb relations with Iran.

Qatar's neighbours insisted the list of demands was their bottom line, not a starting point for negotiations.

The Arab countries signalled that if Qatar refuses to comply by the deadline, they will continue to restrict its access to land, sea and air routes indefinitely amid mounting economic pressure on the Persian Gulf nation.

The demands from Qatar's neighbours amount to a call for a sweeping overhaul of Qatar's foreign policy and natural gas-funded influence peddling in the region.

Complying would force Qatar to bring its policies in line with the regional vision of Saudi Arabia, the Middle East's biggest economy and gatekeeper of Qatar's only land border.

The four Arab states cut ties with Qatar over allegations that it funds terrorism - an accusation Doha rejects but that US president Donald Trump has echoed.

The move has left Qatar under a de facto blockade.</s>Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday denounced the list of demands put forward by four Arab states in efforts to defuse the diplomatic crisis with Qatar, rejecting their request to close its military base in Qatar. “We consider these demands are against international law,” Erdogan was quoted as saying in Istanbul by the state-run Anadolu Agency. Among the 13-demand charter put forth lately by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, Qatar is asked to reduce its ties with Iran, stop funding those blacklisted as terrorists, and immediately terminate the construction of a Turkish military base and stop any military cooperation with Turkey on its land. “Should we get permission when we make a defence cooperation agreement with any country?” Erdogan demanded. “No offence, but Turkey is not such an ordinary country.” Turkey sent 23 more troops and five armoured vehicles to its military base in Qatar last week as a sign of support for the country. On June 5, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain cut off diplomatic ties and imposed a blockade on Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism and undermining regional security. A number of other Muslim countries followed suit in the following days.
The Bahrain News Agency publishes an official list of the demands from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt towards Qatar. Turkey says the demands on Qatar are unlawful.