QNA

 

Gulf differences have come to an end and it is now up to those countries which recalled their ambassadors from Doha to send them back, according to HE the Foreign Minister Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Kuwaiti First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Hamad al-Sabah yesterday, al-Attiyah said that divergence of opinions between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain was already over, adding that the mechanism of the inter-Gulf agreement hammered out in Riyadh on April 17 was “clear-cut”.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain had recalled their envoys from Qatar in March over some policy differences.

Al-Attiyah commended Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber  al-Sabah for “sponsoring” the Riyadh agreement.

“The brothers in the GCC countries have reached deals (but) this doesn’t mean that concessions have been made by any party.”

Al-Attiyah said it was now “left for the brothers in the GCC states to send their ambassadors back” to Doha.

At the April 17 meeting in Riyadh, GCC foreign ministers agreed that the policies of member states should not undermine each other’s “interests, security and stability”.

Al-Attiyah declined to provide details on the Riyadh agreement but reiterated that it signalled an end to the “differences in opinion”.

On Qatar’s support for the GCC union, he said the matter was raised in the beginning by the brothers in Saudi Arabia, adding that “Qatar was one of the first countries that supported this initiative”.

Qatar, he stressed, would always be supporting any idea “that brings us closer to our brothers in the GCC and takes us from  co-operation to a stage that enhances bonds and joint work”.

On Qatar’s view about the situation in Egypt, the Foreign Minister said that HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani had explained during the Arab League Summit which was held in Kuwait recently that he was keen on the stability of the “sisterly Egypt”. Al-Attiyah said that Qatar hoped for Egypt “to rise at all levels because of its paramount importance to all of us in the Arab world”.

On the future of the Qatari-Egyptian relations in case presidential candidate Abdel Fattah al-Sisi wins in the coming elections, al-Attiyah affirmed that Qatar had been and would always be supporting the choices of the Egyptian people, stressing that Doha would not deviate from this stance.

On reasons of the failure of the Arab League Observer Mission to Syria, he said that there was a sincere desire in resolving the Syrian crisis within the Arab countries. But he expressed regret that the Syrian regime did not co-operate with the Arab League envoy, explaining that this was the main reason behind the mission’s failure. 

Sheikh Sabah said that GCC leaders had “sincere desire to continue the march of the member countries as one of the most important tributaries in the joint Arab action”. He pointed out that this march would overcome any obstacles, adding “this is what has been done recently”.  Page 10

 

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