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QNA
Doha
Qatar has ruled out the possibility of normalising relationships with Syria, calling Syrian President Bashar al Assad a war criminal.
“Normalisation of relations with the Syrian regime at this stage is the normalisation of a person involved in war crimes, and this should not be acceptable,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani said at a joint press conference with Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat in Doha on Monday.
Sheikh Mohammed said the reasons behind the freezing of Syria’s membership of the Arab League still exist as the regime is still indifferent to what is happening to the Syrian people.
“Qatar remains unchanged in its position unless there is a solution that satisfies the Syrian people,” he said, stressing that it will support any solution acceptable to the Syrian people.
In response to a question on prospects for solutions to the Gulf crisis in light of the visit of the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Doha on Sunday, he said Qatar continues to follow its principled position for dialogue that would restore the strength of the GCC, through unifying the Gulf system and highlighting the need for all parties to commit to the same.
On the goals of the visit of Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, the FM said the visit comes as part of Oman’s efforts to activate GCC committees, which have been inactive due to the crisis.
Sheikh Mohammed confirmed Qatar’s readiness to support continuation of work of these committees, despite the fact that the measures taken by the siege countries do not help joint work.
He said Qatar has called for the separation between the mechanisms of joint action and the differences that may arise between some GCC countries. He stressed the continued support for such approach without disrupting any of the council’s mechanisms or its committees despite current circumstances that are not helping.
Sheikh Mohammed praised the cooperation between Qatar and the African Union in repatriating irregular migrants in Libya back to their countries and reintegrating them in their communities, in line with the directives of the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani to launch a special fund to cover the costs of returning migrants.
He said the fund to which Qatar is contributing $20 million will support the humanitarian and development work in the African Union countries and will alleviate the difficult living conditions of the African migrants.
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15/01/2019
2695