Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain have issued a joint statement saying they will withdraw their ambassadors from Qatar.

The statement says the envoys have been withdrawn because Qatar has failed to implement an agreement it signed with the GCC states that committed it to the principles of non-interference in the internal affairs of any of the GCC countries. It says the agreement was signed by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in Riyadh on 23 November 2013.

The move by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain to withdraw their ambassadors follows a GCC foreign ministers meeting in Riyadh on 4 March. The statement said that during this meeting further attempts were made to persuade Qatar to commit to the agreement and “agree on a mechanism to monitor the implementation”.