KUWAIT, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani arrived in Kuwait Monday at a time when the Saudi Arabia-led Arab alliance tightens the screws on it amid a diplomatic crisis.
The minister was carrying a handwritten letter from Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the official KUNA news agency reported.
Sheikh Mohammed was greeted at the airport by Kuwaiti First Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Acting Minister of Information Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah.
The Qatari top diplomat's visit to Kuwait came after four Arab nations - Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt - accepted Kuwait's request to extend by 48 hours a deadline for Doha to respond to their list of 13 demands.
Doha is expected to submit its official response on Monday to Kuwait, which is mediating the crisis that started early last month when the Saudi-led alliance of Arab countries decided to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed a blockade on the gas-rich tiny Gulf nation.
The Saudi-led alliance accuses Doha of supporting terrorism, interfering in their internal affairs and having warm ties with Iran, a Saudi rival. Qatar has strongly denied these accusations.
In a related development, U.S. President Donald Trump spoke over the phone separately late Sunday with King Salman Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, and the Amir of Qatar to discuss the crisis, the White House said in a statement.
Trump addressed his "concerns about the ongoing dispute between Qatar and some of its Gulf and Arab neighbors," while reiterating "the importance of stopping terrorist financing and discrediting extremist ideology."
The statement added that Trump also underscored that unity in the region is critical to accomplishing the goals of defeating terrorism and promoting regional stability.
Meanwhile, foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain are scheduled to meet in Cairo Wednesday to discuss the Qatari crisis, an Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Monday.
The meeting comes within the context of coordinating stances on future steps taken to deal with Qatar, as well as exchanging viewpoints and evaluating international and regional contacts, said Ahmed Abu Zeid.
Egypt's administration, led by President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, has accused Doha of supporting and hosting members of the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization currently outlawed by the Egyptian government.
Muslim Brotherhood supports former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, who was toppled by the military in July 2013 in response to mass protests.
