Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister: US Recognizes Qatar's Role in Counterterrorism

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister: US Recognizes Qatar's Role in Counterterrorism

Doha / Information Office / February 12  

HE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said that the US recognizes the State of Qatar's role in countering terrorism, adding that the strategic dialogue between the two countries stated that the State of Qatar is an important partner in countering terrorism".

In an interview on CNN, His Excellency told the host Fareed Zakaria that "the United States knows very well and recognizes the partnership it has with Qatar in countering terrorism. Yesterday we were holding the Strategic Dialogue, which stated very clearly that Qatar is an important partner in countering terrorism, and the United State recognizes its role." He said that the accusations that Qatar supports terrorism are baseless, adding that the siege countries have failed to give any evidences that the Qatar supports terrorism. "In fact, Qatar is a front runner, when it comes to the fight against terror," he stressed.

Responding to a question about the US president's tweet in which he has shown support to Saudi Arabia against Qatar, HE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign minister said that countries do not make policies on bases of tweets, adding that the two countries have very close cooperation. He further said that US President Donald Trump is determined to solve the crises and that he had confirmed this position in several contacts with HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. "We value the role of President Trump," he added.

His Excellency said that Qatar has a strong relationship with the United States, adding President Trump has expressed his understanding of the situation as well as his desire to resolve the crisis. At the beginning of the crisis, the situation was different, but it changed because of the knowledge of government institutions about the nature of Qatar's relationship with the United States and its behavior in the region in addition to that it has connections to terrorism. "We always support global efforts to combat terrorism," he stressed.

On the Saudi accusation to Qatar of being too friendly to Iran, HE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister said: "We are not too friendly to Iran. We want a peaceful neighborhood. We are sharing borders with Iran as we are sharing borders with Saudi Arabia. We have differences with Iran in their policies and we are sharing with them the largest natural gas field." He added that "Those conflicts between us and the region, will not be solved on a battle field. They would be solved by dialogue".

On what Qatar can do to get out of the crisis, HE Deputy Prime Minister said "We see that there is no winner in this crisis, everyone is losing here, and the biggest loser is the Gulf people. The GCC was a framework that brings together everyone. We share the same ethnicity, families and tribes and we are intertwined as peoples. There is no difference between us. As for finding a solution to the crisis, Qatar has always shown its willingness to dialogue and understanding the reason for this siege, but the other side does not want to. No problem can be solved without all parties having the same desire".

On whether there is concern about the possibility of a Saudi invasion of Qatar, HE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister said that there is no concern about a Saudi invasion or invasion by any country. "Our country is well protected, in addition to our partnership with our international allies such as the United States. We have every means to protect our country against any external aggression," he added.