Media Center

Doha - Media & Communication Dept. - March 28

Advisor to the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari said that the repeated visits of Qatari officials to Tehran are within the State of Qatar's efforts to bridge views and submit proposals between the West and Iran on the nuclear file, noting that there are great challenges to reaching an agreement, but efforts are continuing and contacts are continuing with Iranian officials.

During the weekly media briefing organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Al Ansari hoped that these efforts will yield a positive result in these negotiations, whether in the Iranian nuclear agreement or regarding other files in which efforts are made to bridge the views of the two parties.

Highlighting that Qatar has facilitated rapprochement between the West and Iran, hosting indirect negotiations between the two parties, and facilitating European mediation, he stressed that this role will continue at the same pace in pursuit of the nuclear agreement, due to its positive impact on the stability of the region and the world, adding Doha's support for these efforts is one of the priorities of Qatar's foreign policy.

Regarding Qatar's reception of the Rwandan dissident Paul Rusesabagina, Dr. Majed Al Ansari explained that Qatar held many contacts to bridge the views between the Republic of Rwanda and the United States of America to accept the request for mercy submitted by the Rwandan dissident and his companions to reduce the sentence which followed by his release. As a result the Rwandan government decided to consider positively this request, and the dissident arrived in Doha, and he is waiting to travel to join his family in the American city of Houston.

The official spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed his gratitude to the Rwandan government and the American side for their cooperation in facilitating reaching this result, pointing out that Qatar is an essential partner for development efforts in Rwanda, and there are positive relations and great trust between the leaderships of the two countries that allowed it to play this role, not to mention its strategic relations with United States.

Regarding what is currently being raised about Syria's return to the Arab League, Dr. Majed Al Ansari affirmed that there is still no Arab consensus on the return of the Syrian regime to the Arab League, stressing that the Qatari position is firm and there is no normalization with this regime until the reasons that called for boycotting it are no longer there.

He pointed out that the State of Qatar deals with this issue as one of the priorities of Arab issues, so the Arab consensus in it is an important matter. Until this consensus is achieved which comes as a result of positive developments on the Syrian scene which are not available so far, there will be no change in the Qatari position, he said, adding that Qatar's position is clear and steadfast and is not affected by what is going on in the scene unless there are real developments inside Syria in a way that satisfies the aspirations of the Syrian people, or there is an Arab consensus based on these positive developments inside Syria. At the present time there is no reason for optimism about the existence of a proximity to normalization with the Syrian regime and its return to the Arab League, he said.

Affirming Qatar's welcome and support for Arab efforts in the framework of finding a solution to the Syrian crisis, he stressed that this solution must be based on positive developments and a real response to popular demands, and that there should be no betrayal to the blood shed to achieve these aspirations.

During the weekly media briefing organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Majed Al Ansari reviewed the ministry's activities during the past week, its efforts to bridge views on a number of regional and international contentious issues, and its positions on many current issues, as well as its fulfillment of its obligations to support a number of countries, especially Lebanon and the Lebanese army.