The three Persian Gulf Arab states made the decision following what newspapers described as a "stormy" late Tuesday meeting of foreign ministers from the six-nation Persian Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh, AFP reported on Wednesday.

The PGCC countries "have exerted massive efforts to contact Qatar on all levels to agree on a unified policy... to ensure non-interference, directly or indirectly, in the internal affairs of any member state," the statement said.

The nations have also asked Qatar, a backer of the Muslim Brotherhood movement that is banned in most Persian Gulf states, "not to support any party aiming to threaten security and stability of any [P]GCC member," it added, citing media campaigns against them in particular.

The statement stressed that despite the commitment of Qatar's emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to these principles during a mini-summit held in Riyadh in November with Kuwait's emir and the Saudi monarch, his country has failed to comply.

It's the clearest sign yet of the rift between other Persian Gulf Arab nations and Qatar, which has been a staunch supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and elsewhere.

Qatar has also denounced last year's ouster of Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi, who hails from the Brotherhood. Saudi Arabia and the UAE oppose the Brotherhood.

NTJ/BA