Egypt Calls for Activation of Arab Anti-Terror Treaty

Egypt's military-installed interim president Adly Mansour called Tuesday for Arab ministers to meet before the end of June to discuss implementation of an Arab counter-terrorism treaty.

Mansour made no specific mention of the Muslim Brotherhood of his ousted predecessor Mohammed Morsi, which Cairo designated a terrorist organization in December.

But he told the annual Arab League summit in Kuwait that it was vital that League members extradite and not give shelter to "terrorists" wanted by fellow member states.

Egypt has repeatedly invoked the 1998 counter-terrorism treaty, ratified by 18 of the Arab League's 22 member states, in its efforts to put pressure on Qatar to stop giving shelter to fugitive Brotherhood leaders.

"Within the framework of implementing the Arab counter-terrorism treaty, we call for the Arab interior and justice ministers to hold a joint meeting before the end of June," Mansour told the Arab summit in Kuwait.

"We call on all Arab countries to stand united in confronting terrorism."

Relations between Egypt and Qatar have nosedived since the army's overthrow of Morsi last July.

Qatar's support for his Muslim Brotherhood has also strained ties with fellow Gulf states, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates which withdrew their ambassadors from Doha earlier this month.

Saudi Arabia declared the Brotherhood a terrorist organization earlier this month although other Arab states have yet to follow suit.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy told reporters it was not possible to forge a compromise with Qatar during the summit because "the wound is too deep."

The emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani called for "comprehensive dialogue" between all parties in Egypt, without specifically mentioning the Brotherhood.

Kuwait's foreign ministry undersecretary Khaled al-Jarallah said the dispute between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors would "be resolved within the Gulf house," not at the Arab summit.