Saudi Arabia confirms Qatar boycott policy

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir explained the demands that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt had placed on Qatar.

The boycott put in place by the countries emerged from Qatar's support for and financing of terrorism, al-Jubeir (above left) explained to DW as a sidenote during this weekend's meeting of the leading industrialized and developing nations.

"The Qatar crisis has arisen because of Qatar's support for terrorism and its funding, and because Qatar is home to individuals who have links to radicalism and terrorism," Jubeir said. "The crisis has to do with Qatar's spread of hate and agitation and interference in the internal affairs of the region. The demands of the four countries were that Qatar would comply with the Riyadh agreement signed by Qatar in 2013 and 2014 to overcome the crisis."

On June 5, Saudi Arabia and a group of other Gulf states cut ties to Qatar, largely isolating the desert kingdom. Meeting in Cairo on Friday, the foreign ministers from the group said they regretted what they called Qatar's "negative" response to their list of demands and that further steps would be taken.

Read more: Germany's Sigmar Gabriel calls for deal to halt terrorism financing in Gulf

All countries for fighting terrorism 'in principle'

The Saudi minister also stated that he had spoken with his US counterpart Rex Tillerson on the G20 summit sidelines in Hamburg.

Asked if the meeting left him with the impression that the United States supported Saudi Arabia's attitude towards Qatar, Jubeir said, "I think, in principle, all countries in the world are for fighting terrorism and against its financing."

"All countries reject incitement and the spread of hatred, all countries reject interference in internal affairs, and all countries reject the shelter of people involved in terrorism," the minister said.

According to Jubeir, the conversation with Tillerson also included discussion on the American-Saudi relationship and the situation in Syria. "We spoke with Foreign Minister Tillerson about the US-Saudi relations and the situation in Syria," he told DW. "We have also spoken about the understanding of Russia, the US and Jordan regarding the security zones in Syria."

Saudi Arabia will host the G20 summit for the first time in 2020.

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