Egypt summons Qatari diplomat

In another escalation of tension between Egypt and Qatar, Egypt's Foreign Ministry summoned Qatar's charge d'affaires to communicate “a letter of protest,” the state-run Middle East New Agency reported on Tuesday.

MENA cited Ambassador Badr Abdel Aty, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Egypt saying that the charge d'affaires was summoned as the Qatari ambassador was out of town. In the letter, Egypt demanded that Qatar commits to its request to hand over Egyptian suspects residing in the Gulf nation and ceases to intervene in sovereign matters.

Anti-regime Egyptian figures residing in Qatar currently include preacher Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who has used his sermons to vehemently attack the Egyptian government for its crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.

Abdel Aty said in a presser on Tuesday that Egypt has demanded that Qatar stops its media campaigns against it.

This is the second time a Qatari diplomat has been summoned this year by the Egyptian authorities, with a similar episode taking place in January, when the foreign ministry summoned the Qatari ambassador to address an objectionable message.

Qatar has been perceived as having a regime that is supportive of the ousted Muslim Brotherhood group and it has given refuge to several Brotherhood supporters and members in the midst of Egypt's crackdown on the organization.

In a sign of rapprochement, Qatari Foreign Minister Khaled al-Atteya made statements this week to local television stations saying that his country respects Egypt and is committed to cooperation with it. He added that Qaradawi doesn't represent Qatari foreign policy.