Media Center

Doha - Information Office - December 04

HE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, expressed the State of Qatar's optimism for a solution to the Gulf crisis, and said that in Qatar we are very positive and always treat any initiative that brings peace in the region positively.

With regard to Kuwaiti mediation between the State of Qatar and the four countries, His Excellency stressed in a videoconference with the session of the 6th Rome Forum for Mediterranean Dialogue, that any kind of decisions that will be taken must be a comprehensive solution, and His Excellency said that Qatar does not distinguish between any country.

His Excellency said that Qatar wants to see the Gulf Cooperation Council united and most importantly, since the beginning of the crisis, Qatar has been calling for a very open dialogue, and also wants to participate constructively with any efforts to resolve and calm tension in the region.

His Excellency emphasized that the unity of the Gulf will be in the interest of all GCC people, as well as in the interest of the international community.

His Excellency expressed his hope that things will go in the right direction, adding that now, Qatar cannot anticipate whether this will be imminent or not, and will the entire problem be solved in one day, stressing that the conflict took a long time, and it's been more than three and a half year.

His Excellency said that he thinks that we also need time after the solution to address everything that happened in that conflict, adding that during the three years since the beginning of the Gulf crisis there have been many serious attempts to solve it on the part of the late HH Amir of Kuwait, which is continued now by HH Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad, the current Amir of Kuwait, along with the American administration and the American President.

His Excellency affirmed Qatars support for these efforts, and said that some progress has been made in some cases more than a year ago, then the movement slowed down, and now there are some moves that we hope will contribute to ending this crisis because we believe that the unity of the GCC is extremely important to the security and stability of the region.

His Excellency stressed the need to end this crisis on the basis of mutual respect and the equal rights of all countries and all peoples of the region, and to achieve the interest of our people.

His Excellency added that he don't think that any country, including Qatar, has the right to impose conditions and demands on other countries, stressing that he believes that all problems and disagreements can be solved through dialogue and discussion so that we can face the challenges that the world is currently going through, which include dangerous situations such as the Covid-19 pandemic, pointing out that he believes that cooperation is necessary for every country or region to move forward in this direction. 

Commenting on the issue of Libya and the foreign role in the Libyan conflict, and whether dialogue to resolve the Gulf crisis will facilitate the solution of the Libyan crisis, His Excellency said that the entire world is interconnected and what is happening in the Middle East region in particular has a very special interconnection, and even when we talk about the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council versus Libya, and Syria, whatever is happening in the region, they all have this kind of bond.

His Excellency added that we need to acknowledge that history taught us that there are no conflicts that ended militarily, and culminated in success and sustainability. Ultimately, any dispute will end around a table and be resolved diplomatically and through dialogue. Therefore, whatever we can do to facilitate peace and stability in Libya, we must spare no effort in doing so.

HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs referred to some progress made in Libya by declaring a ceasefire.

His Excellency called for the need to deal with the Libyan issue with the same standard when talking about Turkey's support for the Government of National Accord, which is the legitimate government recognized by the United Nations and recognized by the international community.

His Excellency said that if we need to find any solution to the situation in Libya, there is no need to deal with matters on the basis of double standards.

His Excellency stressed the need for all foreign interference to stop, and added that who violate Security Council resolutions should be hold accountable for these violations.

His Excellency said that no one wants to intervene in Libya if this will fuel the conflict, adding that we need to exclude regional interests different from the Libyan conflict in order to ensure that the interests of the Libyan people are prioritized.

His Excellency pointed out that this will not happen unless there is a honest and sincere discussion between the countries involved in Libya. They need to deal with the matter with discipline, and they must put the interest of the Libyan people first and foremost, and to make stability in Libya their goal and move forward in this direction.

His Excellency explained that international measures have been in place for a long time, since the Libyan revolution in 2011 until now, and every time they are undermined by certain forces and factions in Libya supported by foreign countries.

HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs stressed that the Gulf Cooperation Council crisis is not linked to the settlement of Abraham nor to any normalization with Israel, and that the core of the conflict between Israel and the region is the Palestinian issue.

His Excellency said that in Qatar we believe that if there is an opportunity for peace based on a just settlement for the Palestinian people to establish their independent and sovereign state with East Jerusalem as its capital, as mentioned by the Arab Peace Initiative, others will have the will and Qatar will go with the other countries in the region immediately, stressing that that normalization between the State of Qatar and Israel will not add value to the Palestinian people, and Qatar have working relations with Israel to facilitate aid and projects for the Palestinian people, and Qatar sees at the present time that these are sufficient relations that can benefit our brothers in Palestine, but as for full normalization, the Palestine issue needs to be at the core of any agreement of normalization between the State of Qatar and Israel.

On the peace talks between the Afghans, His Excellency expressed hope that there will be some progress in the next two days between the two negotiating delegations, and that it will witness some progress so that 2021 will be a good year for Afghanistan that brings peace and stability as it is the main purpose of Qatar in hosting this dialogue.

His Excellency also hoped that peace and stability would be achieved for the Afghan people as soon as possible, and affirmed that the State of Qatar would continue its efforts in that direction.

In conclusion, His Excellency thanked the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for organizing the session of the 6th Rome Forum for Mediterranean Dialogue.