HE the Foreign Minister of Qatar Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani agreed with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on holding an independent investigation into the chemical attacks that took place in Khan Sheikhoun in Syria.
The minister stressed that the perpetrators of crimes in Syria will be brought to justice.
He also stressed that Qatar will not contribute to any demographic change in Syria.
In a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart, the foreign minister said that bilateral ties have been seeing significant improvement since the visit of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to Russia and meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
He added that there was significant bilateral co-operation in the fields of investment, and oil and gas.
The minister said that the meeting focused on elevating co-operation ties in different fields such as culture, sports, defence and other sectors.
He also touched upon co-operation between the GCC and Russia, confirming that Qatar supports these efforts.
Yesterday’s meeting also discussed regional issues, led by the Syrian crisis and the attack on Khan Sheikhoun which saw many children get killed.
On the crisis, the foreign minister said that the two sides agree on many points, mainly the importance of maintaining the unity of Syria and putting an end to the suffering of the Syrian people.
He maintained however that Qatar and Russia differ in the means of reaching those goals, but stressed that Qatar will always rely on dialogue to deal with difference in opinion in order to achieve security and stability to the Syrian people as soon as possible and in line with Geneva 1 and UN Security Council No. 2254.
He said that Qatar supports Astana negotiations that are organised by Russia and Turkey, saying that it will be one of the factors contributing to the success of Geneva negotiations.
The minister said that the meeting saw the two sides agree on the importance of holding an independent investigation into the chemical attacks that took place in Khan Sheikhoun.
He said that Qatar supports the effort of the investigation committee and stressed on the importance of its independence when pursuing its mission in areas controlled by either the regime or the opposition.
The Qatari foreign minister noted however that the committee’s work will be rendered futile if its outcomes are not implemented.
He also stressed that the horrific scenes in Khan Sheikhoun cannot be replicated, and not punishing the perpetrators will be a gateway to repeating similar attacks in the future.
HE the Foreign Minister stressed Qatar’s condemnation to all criminal and terrorist acts, noting that there were important measures that need to be taken to separate moderate Syrian opposition and terrorist organisations.
Some of those measures, according to the minister, include providing a suitable environment for political solution, ensuring the security of moderate opposition and providing them with an environment were they can express opposition moderately with a complete separation from terrorist organisations.
He stressed that the Syrian people and the opposition will be the strongest weapon against terrorism.
On the four cities relief agreement in Syria, HE the Foreign Minister said the agreement was humanitarian in nature and began since 2015.
He noted that there were 65,000 civilians from different ethnicities and sects put under siege. He said Qatar would never contribute to any demographic change in Syria, stressing that it would never work on destroying or changing any way Syria’s social fabric.
The meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister also discussed developments in Yemen, Libya and Palestine.
For his part, Lavrov said that he agrees with the Qatari Foreign Minister on the importance of finding a political resolution to the Syrian crisis quickly. He described the US airstrike on Al-Shuairat airfield was against the law and added that Russia insists on holding an independent investigation into the chemical attack in Syria.
The Russian minister added that his country and Qatar are united by their position regarding the urgency of implementing a ceasefire in Russia as well as counter-terrorism and reaching a political resolution to the crisis in line with UN Security Council resolutions.
Lavrov also said that there were continuous talks between Qatar and Russia on the urgent issues in the Middle East, led by the Syrian crisis as well as Libya, Yemen, and Palestine. He noted that the two sides agree on resolving all these crises peacefully.
43 killed as car bomb hits evacuees in Syria
At least 43 people were killed yesterday in a car bombing targeting a convoy of evacuees from two pro-regime villages in northern Syria, a monitoring group reported.
Dozens of others were injured in the blast near buses being used for the evacuation outside the northern city of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights added.
So far, there has been no claim of responsibility for the attack.
Abdel Rahman Hassan, a spokesman of the White Helmet Civil Defence group, put the death toll at 100. He said that another 55 people were injured.
Syria’s state news agency SANA said that scores of civilians, mostly women and children, were killed and injured in the bombing.
HE the Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani held with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov a session of talks in Moscow yesterday.
