CAIRO, Feb 19 (Aswat Masriya) - The Gulf Cooperation Council condemned on Thursday press statements made by Egypt's envoy to the Arab League accusing Qatar of "supporting terrorism."

Qatar recalled late Wednesday its ambassador in Cairo for "consultations" over a statement by Egypt's AL envoy Tareq Adel, its Foreign Ministry said.

In a meeting on Wednesday, Egypt urged the AL council to support the airstrikes it carried out against militants in Libya in response to beheading 20 Coptic Egyptians inside Libya at the hands of militants believed to belong to the Libyan division of the Islamic State fighters. 

Adel said Egypt won the support of all AL members except for Qatar, which he accused of "supporting terrorism," reported MENA.

Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani, the GCC secretary general, expressed in a statement published on the council's official website his rejection to "accusations levelled by Egypt's envoy to the AL against Qatar." 

"Such accusations are void," Zayani's statement read. "They ignore the sincere efforts exerted by Qatar and its GCC brothers and the Arab countries in fighting terrorism and extremism on all levels."

The GCC is made up of six gulf states: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait.

Egyptian ties with Qatar have deteriorated following the army's ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July 2013, which was prompted by mass protests against his rule. Qatar was a strong supporter of Mursi's regime. 

Egypt has withdrawn its ambassador to the Gulf state in March 2014 following critical comments made by Qatari emir Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Egypt's domestic affairs.

Nevertheless, Egypt and Qatar both embraced an appeal by the late Saudi King Abdullah in December 2014 to consolidate relations between them.