Saudi Gazette report

CAIRO - Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the Arab League Ahmed Qattan said on Tuesday that the actions that have been taken by the four Arab states calling to combat terrorism are sovereign measures due to the wrong policies being pursued by Doha since so many years.

Addressing the opening session of the Arab League foreign ministers’ meeting in Cairo on Tuesday, he said that the talks with Qatar will remain suspended until Qatar issues a clear position publicly on the anti-terror Quartet’s demands.

Qattan said the four Arab states -Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt – have taken the sovereign measures against Qatar because of its wrong policies in terms of supporting and financing terrorism and hosting those involved in terrorism on its territory, spreading hatred and interfering in the internal affairs of other states. The 13 demands made by these countries and the six principles are in fact meant to highlight the Qatari violations and call on it to abide by previous agreements, he said, citing that Qatar failed to abide by the Riyadh Agreement of 2013 and the Riyadh Agreement of 2014 and continued its negative and hostile policies towards the countries of the region.

“All these policies have forced us to take these measures for the benefit of Qatar on one hand and our security and stability on the other,” he said citing that there are several Arab and international bodies which had condemned these actions carried out by Qatar. He said that the four countries will continue to adhere to these demands until Qatar responds to them.

Qattan said that Qatar had given its first hope to end the crisis with the four countries after the telephone call between Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, and the emir of Qatar.

“But unfortunately Qatar evaded and distorted the reality of the contents of the telephone conversation. Hence, directives were issued to suspend any talks with Qatar until it issues its clear position publicly, and its willingness to dialogue,” he said adding “what has Qatar done reinforced the fact that they are unwilling to enter into dialogue.”

On Qatar’s rapprochement with Iran, Qattan said “this is a sovereign decision, but the embrace in the arms of the Iranians and others will only lead to ruin and destruction and will have a negative effect on them. Everyone knows the reality of the destructive Iranian role toward the Arab states, especially the Gulf states, with its interference in internal affairs and destabilizing and undermining security of the GCC states,” he said. “If the Qatari brothers think that if the rapprochement with Iran would serve their interests, they are carrying out matters in a wrong way and they will be accountable for that,” he said.

Qattan said that the great success of this year’s Haj season is a befitting reply to those who attempted to politicize Haj whether it is Iran or Qatar. “Saudi Arabia considers any attempt to politicize Haj as an act of aggression and declaration of war against it,” he said.

Meanwhile, the foreign ministers’ meeting witnessed exchange of words between Saudi and Qatari delegates. Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan Bin Saad Al-Muraikhi triggered the provocation by justifying his country’s relations with Iran, saying it is a ‘decent country’. Reacting to it, Qattan said that Qatar would regret its relations with Iran, recalling the Iranian conspiracy against the Gulf states. “The representative of Qatar says that Iran is a decent country, and that this is the cynicism of Iran, which conspires against the Gulf countries, which have spy networks in Bahrain and Kuwait,” he said and added: “Congratulations to you Iran, and God willing, soon you will regret it.”