Qatar has responded to a list of demands from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt in a letter to the Kuwaiti Emir.

Newswire Associated Foreign Press (AFP) reported on 3 July that Qatar’s foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, delivered the letter during a short visit to Kuwait, which is acting as a mediator in the crisis.

Qatar has previously denied accusations from the Saudi-led bloc that it funds terrorism, and the country’s foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said his country had rejected the demands, but was ready to engage in dialogue under the right conditions.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt extended the deadline for Qatar to comply with a list of demands by 48 hours on 3 July. The initial deadline to accept the list of demands expired at midnight on 2 July.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have previously said that if Qatar fails to comply with the list of demands, which include the shutting down of the state-owned Aljazeera news network, it will face further sanctions.

It is unclear what kind of sanctions Qatar’s Gulf neighbours will impose if it fails to agree with the demands, but there have been reports that Saudi Arabia and the UAE could restrict commercial links with countries that continue to trade with Qatar.