The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday that Qatar needs to provide a concrete strategy before Abu Dhabi would consider restoring ties.

Along with neighboring Saudi Arabia and its closest allies, the UAE severed relations with Qatar on Monday, suspending all flights and giving Qataris 14 days to leave the country in the biggest diplomatic crisis to hit the region in years.

"We need a guaranteed road map to rebuild confidence after our covenants were broken," UAE state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash said on Twitter.  

Traders monitor screens displaying stock information at the Qatar Stock Exchange in Doha, June 5, 2017. Stocks slumped after neighboring countries cut ties with Doha. /VCG Photo

Gargash accused Doha of turning to "money and media and partisanship and extremism" in a series of tweets early Tuesday. Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen and the Maldives also cut ties with Qatar, accusing the country of supporting terrorism. Qatar has denied the allegations. 

A longtime ally of the United States, Qatar has been viewed with suspicion by Washington and its Gulf neighbors over its close relations with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

It hosts the largest US airbase in the region, which is crucial in the fight against Islamic State. It is also set to host the 2022 soccer World Cup.

The rift among Washington's Gulf allies comes less than a month after US President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia and called for a united Muslim front against extremism. 

It follows weeks of rising tensions between Doha and its neighbors, including Qatari accusations of a concerted media campaign against the emirate and the alleged hacking of its official news agency.

(Source: AFP)