Saudi king cancels G20 summit trip due to Gulf crisis

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will not to attend the G20 summit due to the Gulf crisis, Saudi diplomatic sources said Monday.

Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan will instead go to the summit, scheduled to take place in the northern German port city of Hamburg on July 7 and 8.

The summit brings together leaders including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Starting from June 5, Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, Maldives, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen's internationally backed government and one of Libya's three governments have cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar over accusations that the Gulf nation funds militant groups – charges Doha calls baseless.

Several other Muslim nations also downgraded their diplomatic ties with Qatar.

The Saudi-led anti-Qatar axis issued an ultimatum last week, including demands Qatar shut down a Turkish military base in Doha, shutting Al Jazeera and curbing ties with Iran.

The four Arab countries have agreed to give Qatar 48 more hours, in a deadline extension proposed by Kuwait, for the Gulf emirate to comply with a list of demands, local media reported early Monday.

Meanwhile, Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani traveled to Kuwait City, carrying a handwritten note from his nation's ruler for 88-year-old Kuwaiti Sheikh Sabah Al Sabah, according to the state-run KUNA news agency. There was no immediate word on what the letter said, though Sheikh Sabah is trying to mediate the crisis.