Gulf states could take further actions and could go as far as recommending the expulsion of Qatar from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) if the list of demands made nearly two weeks ago is not given a satisfactory response, a state-backed Gulf media said on Wednesday. 

The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt confirmed they received Qatar’s response just before the scheduled meeting of their foreign ministers in Cairo. 

The Saudi-led bloc gave Qatar 13 demands on June 23 in return for the lifting of the economic and diplomatic sanctions they imposed last month. 

Qatar had called the demands, which include shutting down the Al-Jazeera News Network and expelling Turkish military forces in the country, a disrespect to their sovereignty and an attempt for the Arab countries to control its foreign policy. 

However, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said on Tuesday that their response was “given in goodwill and good initiative for a constructive solution.”

It was made clear that the demands were not negotiable but the leaders of the Arab nations said they would respond in a “timely manner” to Qatar’s reply to possibly end the problem. 

The crisis gripping the Persian Gulf started on June 5 over allegations that Qatar supports Islamist militants, including the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the other Arab nations. 

Qatar denied the claims and defended its warm relations with Iran.