QNA
Doha
Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani has reaffirmed Qatar's commitment to the GCC system, saying that any summit of the GCC will be a good opportunity for a civilised and diplomatic dialogue between member countries.
"We still hope the summit would be held on time. If there is any delay, it will be because of the intransigence of these countries and their inability to confront or discuss the causes of the Gulf crisis."
During a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Doha on Sunday, the Foreign Minister said Qatar has not received any official letter about the postponement of the GCC summit, adding that any such postponement would be due to the indifference of the blockading countries.
"The GCC is quite important for the collective security and we feel sorry that the GCC will be a casualty of the siege of Qatar," he said.
The minister pointed out that officials of the blockading countries are resorting to non-diplomatic means such as tribalism and politicisation of religion which have no relevance in diplomacy.
Referring to the recent statements by the Bahraini foreign minister on the crisis, the Foreign Minister said:"The crisis has thrown up many surprises. In the allegations of so called heads of diplomacy, we neither see diplomacy nor maturity."
He pointed out that"those who have made the allegations and talk about social repression, practised it in their countries the worst forms of social repression, and those who are talking about stirring up sedition are the ones who encourage it."
He added that the current crisis undermines the efforts to resolve the issues in the region and disrupt efforts to combat terrorism. On the contrary, the blockading countries are imposing unfair measures on a country which was their strong ally.
On the Kuwaiti mediation, Sheikh Mohammed stressed the position of Qatar that the mediation is the umbrella for resolving the crisis. He affirmed his support for the Kuwaiti efforts and said all the parties should support it.
He also praised the efforts of the Emir of Kuwait and his commitment of to the dialogue.
He said there are attempts by the Saudi-led bloc to normalise the siege."But the humanitarian consequences of the siege such as separation of families cannot be normalised, the issue of 26,000 people affected by the siege cannot be normalised," he said.
"The word normalisation can't be used while they continue incitement and spend money of their people irresponsibly to open fronts in the West against Qatar to spread lies," the Foreign Minister said.
The minister said he and Tillerson discussed bilateral relations and the international fight against IS group as well as the latest developments in the region, especially in Syria, Iraq and Palestine.
On the Iranian influence in the region, the Foreign Minister said,"Doha's position is one of rejecting any negative influence and interference in the region and in the Arab world as a whole."
"In our last meeting last year in Bahrain, the leaders committed themselves to engaging in a serious dialogue with Iran on the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of any party, and resolve all issues through dialogue," he said.
At the press conference Rex Tillerson said Saudi Arabia is not willing to begin direct talks to resolve a months-long diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.
"In my meetings with [Saudi] Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, I asked him to please engage in dialogue, [but] there is not a strong indication that parties are ready to talk yet," said Tillerson, referring to his earlier discussions in Riyadh."We cannot force talks upon people who are not ready to talk."
Tillerson expressed concern about the effect of the crisis on the region's stability."It's very important for the GCC to continue to pursue unity. It is most effective when it is unified and none of us can afford to let this dispute linger," he said, renewing a call for dialogue to resolve the dispute.
"We ask that everyone minimises the rhetoric and de-escalate the tensions and take steps to do so."
Tillerson affirmed that the US will continue to play its role in supporting the mediation efforts led by the Emir of Kuwait. It will also continue to communicate with all parties in order to understand and resolve its concerns.
About the progress of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in July between the US and Qatar on Combating Terrorism, Tillerson said,"In July we signed the memorandum of understanding on counter-terrorism, in which significant progress has been made, Including the sharing of information on terrorists and the financing of terrorism. We also held several technical training sessions as well as actions on securing airspace and strengthening relations between the two countries in the fight against terrorism."
"The US continues to work closely with Qatar to fight terrorism," he said, noting that US President Donald Trump is putting the fight against terrorism among his priorities.
He also thanked Qatar for its donation of $30 million to alleviate the suffering and impact of hurricanes in the country. He also praised the relations between the United States and Qatar. And we look forward to further strengthening economic relations between our two countries over the long term."