“Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt made a sovereign decision to boycott Qatar in order to maintain security in the region and pressure Doha to halt its support of terrorism,” Mouallimi said in a statement published by the Saudi foreign ministry on Sunday.
He also said that Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have given Qatar several opportunities to remain within its “natural fold.”
He added: “Qatar was given several chances to end its support of terrorism and not interfere in other countries’ internal affairs. The last of these chances were in 2013 and 2014 but these attempts failed as it did not commit to the demands asked of it.”