The worst diplomatic crisis in the Gulf has deepened over the weekend in the immediate aftermath of Saudi Arabia and its allies putting forth a 13-point charter of demands to Qatar with a ten-day time-frame for compliance.

The reinforced reprisal was obviously intended to tighten the screw on Doha after the diplomatic isolation and economic blockade of the oil-rich kingdom a fortnight back.

Sunday’s diplomatic offensive by Turkey would suggest that the Concert of Arab States hadn’t really anticipated so robust a diplomatic offensive by Ankara.

The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has bluntly told Saudi Arabia and its allies that their demand that Ankara must withdraw its troops from Qatar was “disrespectful”. “To ask Turkey to pull out its troops from Qatar is firstly disrespectful behaviour towards us,” was his stern message to the Gulf states on the eve of Ramzan. “We don’t need permission from anyone to establish military bases among partners. We endorse and appreciate Qatar’s stance towards the 13 demands.

It’s a very, very ugly approach to try to interfere with our agreement.” On closer reflection, the conduct of foreign policy by the Saudi-led coalition has been ugly in itself. Indeed, the charter of sweeping demands, furnished to the palace in Doha, was an infringement on the kingdom’s sovereignty, indeed a violation of the certitudes of international law.

No less an attack on sovereignty in terms of bilateral military agreements was the directive to Turkey on troop pullout. Furthermore, the demands are not wholly related to the core issue that Qatar must stop aiding and abetting terrorists. Notably, Riyadh and its allies have demanded the closure of the state-funded broadcasting network, Al-Jazeera, scaling back contact with Iran, the removal of Turkish troops from Qatar, and severance of ties with Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist outfit.

If Qatar, an influential power in the region owing to its oil reserves, has thus been isolated for now, the reprisal reflects poorly on the concerted diplomacy of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, UAE, and other GCC states. The demands levelled on Qatar and now on Turkey are unreasonable.

Unity within a region so tormented as the Gulf can only be restored when all countries involved are willing to discuss the terms of engagement in a measured and realistic manner.

Rather than precipitate matters, as manifest this month, it devolves on the Gulf states to initiate an essay towards de-escalating the situation and lifting the current embargo and restrictions. The diplomatic shadow-boxing, has affected the lives of people in the region.

As with Turkey, the demands on Qatar will be difficult to meet. The fractured Arab region deserves better than a quirky conduct of international relations.