05 July 2017•Update: 05 July 2017
By Ahmed al-Masri, Afra Aksoy, Safiye Karabacak
DOHA
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel Tuesday said Berlin was in favor of solution-oriented approaches with regards to the Gulf crisis.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel also praised the U.S. and Kuwait for their efforts as mediators in a joint news conference with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani within the scope of his three-day Gulf tour.
"Germany has not taken the side of any party during the Gulf crisis. However, we support a solution-based approach and we are trying to figure out what the core of this problem is," he said.
On June 5, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain all abruptly cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of interfering in their domestic affairs and supporting terrorist groups.
The four states later presented Qatar with a list of 13 demands -- including the closure of pan-Arab news broadcaster Al Jazeera -- which they said must be met before the embargo is lifted.
The four states gave Doha a 10-day deadline, which expired on Sunday, by which to comply with their list of demands.
On Sunday, however, the four states agreed to extend the deadline by an additional 48-hours to midnight Tuesday.
Al-Thani said Qatar had replied to the list of 13 demands on Monday within the framework of respect for the state sovereignty and international laws.
He labeled the demands as "unreal and inapplicable", adding they would violate Qatar's sovereignty and interfere with internal affairs.
"Provided that a dialogue opportunity based on mutual equality is given instead of threats, we are ready to " he said. "There is no other solution but for this crisis."
After having begun his three-day Gulf tour in Saudi Arabia on Monday, Sigmar Gabriel is expected to visit Kuwait on Wednesday after the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
* Ali Murat contributed to this report from Ankara
