Qatar a strategic ally of Britain, says Fallon

Bristish Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has said Qatar was and is still a strategic ally of the United Kingdom in the region.
Fallon praised Doha’s support for the international campaign against terrorism and against IS, pointing out that three years after the start of the campaign, achievements could not have been possible without Qatar’s support.
In an interview with Al-Sharq newspaper, Fallon said UK supports all mediation efforts to resolve the Gulf crisis, led by Kuwait, warning of the negative impact of prolonging the crisis on the entire Middle East region, adding that the crisis should not be allowed to continue in the light of great challenges facing the region.
The defence secretary said the co-operation between the UK and Qatar is not limited to defence and commercial aspects, but extends to many other fields, stressing that his country provides all support to Qatar in its preparations to host the World Cup 2022 and wants it to be a success.
Qatar is always a strong ally of Britain in the region and “our relationship is not just defensive or commercial,” he added.
On the defence side, Fallon said: “We are now implementing the defence and security co-operation agreement that was renewed last year and our forces are working closely with each other,” describing the current relations between the two countries as excellent.
As for more joint military exercises between the two sides, Fallon said the agreement on security and military co-operation signed between the two countries and which was renewed last year includes training operations, pointing out that last month “our forces completed their last military exercises with Ahmed bin Mohamed Military College, which was the third joint training between the two countries’ forces in one month.”
Regarding Britain’s position on the current Gulf crisis, Fallon affirmed that his country is not biased in favour of a specific party, but encourages mediation between the parties, expressing his country’s support for the mediation efforts undertaken by Kuwait.
During his visit to Kuwait three weeks ago, Fallon said he encouraged the Kuwaitis to continue the mediation efforts, stressing the importance to find a solution to this conflict.
Fallon stressed the need to fight terrorism in a better and stronger way, noting the need to improve the way in fighting this phenomenon.
Regarding the stability of the Middle East and whether the current Gulf crisis leads to the destabilisation, Fallon stressed that all parties must work hard to find the solution, adding that the unity of the Gulf states is an important pillar of stability in the entire region.
He also said that there are many challenges currently facing the region including the war in Syria, the campaign against the IS and the conflict in Yemen in addition to other issues.
Fallon affirmed that this “conflict” must not be continued in the Gulf and a solution must be found now.