In a sign that the illegal blockade of Qatar by its neighbouring countries may be easing down, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE have come up with a new set of ‘six principles’ Qatar should abide by, down from 13 demands earlier.

The four countries have urged Qatar to commit to the ‘six principles’ on combating extremism and terrorism, and to negotiate a plan with specific measures to implement them, reported Al Jazeera. 
Abdallah Al Mouallimi, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the UN, told reporters that the four countries are now committed to the six principles agreed on by their foreign ministers at a July 5 meeting in Cairo. 

So what are the six principles? 

* Commitment to combat extremism and terrorism in all their forms and to prevent their financing or providing havens.
* Suspending all acts of provocation and speeches inciting hatred or violence.
* Full compliance with the Riyadh Agreement of 2013 and the supplementary agreement and its implementation mechanisms of 2014 within the framework of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
* Adherence to all the outcomes of the Arab Islamic American Summit held in May, 2017 in Riyadh.
* Refraining from interfering in the internal affairs of states and from supporting illegal entities.
* The responsibility of all states of the international community to confront all forms of extremism and terrorism as a threat to international peace and security.

Al Mouallimi also said that the four Arab states believe that stopping incitement to violence is essential, but he said closing Al Jazeera might not be necessary.

“If the only way to achieve that is by closing down Al Jazeera, fine,” he said. “If we can achieve that without closing down Al Jazeera, that's also fine. The important thing is the objective and the principle involved,” he added.
Qatar had earlier turned down the 13 demands saying it was meant to be rejected. The country had initially been given 10 days to comply with it, which was later extended by a further two days at the request of mediators Kuwait.