Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi vowed to object on a condition set by Syrian authorities which demanded the Lebanese state to “officially appeal Damascus for help” to engage in a prisoners swap with jihadists to guarantee the safe release of the abducted Lebanese soldiers and policemen.

Rifi stressed in comments to al-Liwaa newspaper on Wednesday that Syria's conditions are “completely rejected.”

Amnesty International on Wednesday criticized "woefully insufficient" steps taken by Qatar so far to end abuses of migrant workers building facilities for the controversial 2022 World Cup.

"Urgent action is needed to ensure we do not end up with a World Cup tournament that is built on forced labor and exploitation," said the head of Amnesty's department for refugee and migrant rights, Sherif Elsayed-Ali.

Qatar's ruling emir says U.S.-led coalition airstrikes are not enough to defeat "terrorism and extremism" in Iraq and Syria, and the world must also take action against factors fueling radicalism.

In comments to an advisory council in the Qatari capital of Doha on Tuesday, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani claimed that the key factors fueling extremism in the two Mideast countries are the policies of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government and "some militias in Iraq" — a reference to Iranian-backed Shiite militias.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam is expected to travel to the United Arab Emirates on Monday to continue a tour he kicked off recently to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.

A ministerial source described in comments published in al-Liwaa newspaper on Tuesday the ties between Lebanon and UAE as “strong.”

Gulf monarchies have indefinitely postponed a ministerial meeting ahead of their annual summit, an official said Monday, amid a simmering dispute over Islamists between Qatar and three other members.

The Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers had been scheduled to meet in Doha on Monday, but the talks were postponed without any new date set, a Gulf official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

The emir of Kuwait visited Qatar and the United Arab Emirates Friday in a bid to bring two of the Gulf's most powerful nations closer ahead of crucial talks next week.

Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, who is tasked with kick-starting rapprochement between Doha and its Gulf neighbors, met the Emirati vice president and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi before talks with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Gulf news agencies reported.

Qatar suffered a rare setback in its London property buying spree on Friday when its offer to buy the company behind the landmark Canary Wharf office quarter was rejected.

Songbird, the property firm which controls 69 percent of Canary Wharf Group, said in a statement that its management has unanimously rejected a joint takeover approach from sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and U.S. company Brookfield Property Partners.

Syria's Muslim Brotherhood, one of President Bashar Assad's political adversaries in exile, has appointed a 70-year-old British-educated ophthalmologist as its new leader.

The Brotherhood's council elected Mohammad Hekmat Walid for a four-year term in a vote Thursday in Istanbul, where the Syrian opposition in exile is based, a statement said.

A Syrian official said that his country is not enthusiastic to respond to the Islamic State group and al-Nusra Front demands to guarantee the release of the abducted Lebanese soldiers and policemen.

“We cannot find any justification to repeat the Aazaz pilgrims experience after Beirut failed to thank Damascus on its efforts to help end the kidnapping ordeal,” a Syrian minister, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told An Nahar newspaper on Monday.

The Lebanese government has not given the greenlight for a swap deal with al-Nusra Front, a source said on Sunday, as media reports said General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim will seek the release of a number of Syrian women prisoners from the regime's jails.

“The members of the ministerial crisis cell were informed of al-Nusra's suggestions, but they are yet to take a stance on the proposals,” LBCI television reported in the afternoon.