Saudi and allies say they have Qatar's response to their demands

Dubai: A quartet of Arab nations said they have received Qatar's response to their demands for ending a diplomatic crisis gripping the Gulf.

A joint statement issued early Wednesday morning said Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would respond "in a timely manner." It did not elaborate. Foreign ministers from the four countries are due to meet later Wednesday in Cairo.

The four countries early last month cut diplomatic ties to Qatar in large part over their allegations that it supports extremist groups. Qatar denies backing extremists.

They later issued a 13-point list of demands to Qatar to end the standoff. Qatar submitted a written response to mediator Kuwait on Monday.

Read: UN tells Qatar to mend fences with Gulf neighbours

Meanwhile, Qatar on Tuesday said the demands of Arab rivals in a Gulf diplomatic crisis were impossible to meet, ahead of talks in Egypt between Saudi Arabia and allies that have cut ties with Doha.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told a press conference in Doha that the list of conditions for restoring relations "is unrealistic and is not actionable".

"It's not about terrorism, it's talking about shutting down the freedom of speech," he said at a joint press conference after talks with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt -- who accuse Qatar of supporting extremism -- gave Doha an extra 48 hours to meet their demands after an initial 10-day deadline expired on Sunday.

The demands included Doha ending support for the Muslim Brotherhood, closing broadcaster Al-Jazeera, downgrading diplomatic ties with Iran and shutting down a Turkish military base in the emirate.

Read: Made to be rejected: Qatar on list of demands placed by Arab states

Sheikh Mohammed handed an official response on Monday to Kuwait, which is mediating in the dispute, but its contents have not been disclosed.

He refused Tuesday to give any further details, but said Doha was looking for a solution to the month-long crisis based on dialogue.

"The state of Qatar has adopted a very constructive attitude since the beginning of the crisis. We are trying to act mature and discuss the matter," he said.

The four countries cut diplomatic and transport links with Qatar a month ago and have suggested further sanctions could be imposed if Doha does not comply.

Read: Turkish, Qatari defence ministers meet amid crisis with Arab states

Qatar, which denies any support for extremists, has said it will not bow to pressure and that the demands seem designed to be rejected.

The UAE has accused Doha of supporting Al-Qaeda-linked groups in Syria, Libya and Yemen.

On Tuesday a spokesman for the forces of Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar, Ahmad al-Mesmari, speaking at a press conference in Cairo, accused Qatar along with Turkey and Sudan of supporting "terrorist groups" in Libya.

Qatar is the world's leading producer of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and on Tuesday the head of state-owned Qatar Petroleum said it was planning a significant production increase over the coming years.