Qatar‘s foreign minister has rejected the list of demands that Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have put in place in regards to the severing of diplomatic ties. 

Foreign minister for Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, announced the decision during a visit to Rome. 

Al Thani spoke at a press conference and stated: “Regarding the demands and our position, we have been from the beginning very clear on this. We are not going to accept anything that infringes on our sovereignty or anything that is imposed on Qatar,” he said.

He also firmly denied that Qatar would be closing its Turkish military base – which is one of the stipulations in the list of 13 requests. 

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He told Reuters: “We are not going to retreat from any agreement we have already signed. We really appreciate the relationship we have with Turkey.”

Read: This One Infographic Explains Exactly Why The UAE Made The Decision To Sever Ties With Qatar

Meanwhile the four countries involved have reiterated their right to sever diplomatic ties under the World Trade Organisation

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt briefed the WTO on Friday of the Qatar situation, and outlined the moves were in line with international regulations allowing WTO member states to “act against any other state that threatens their security and stability, which is a sovereign right in virtue of article (21) of the General Agreement on Trade in Services,” according to national news agency WAM.