His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al-Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, affirmed that there are no conditions for Gulf reconciliation for one country over another, explaining that what was signed are basic principles to overcome the dispute, indicating that there are measures that are being taken to restore normal relations with the four countries. .
His Excellency said – in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV broadcast on Thursday – that the Gulf crisis was an exceptional situation over the past 3 and a half years, and the solution represented a victory for the Cooperation Council and a victory for all the peoples of the region.
Regarding the nature of the solution, the Foreign Minister explained that the nature of the solution is an agreement on basic principles to overcome the current dispute and to form the governing rules for future state relations.
He added that the principles of the agreement are clear, which are: not to infringe on the sovereignty of any country, non-interference in the internal affairs of any state, and cooperation in the field of regional security and combating terrorism .. which are basic principles.
Regarding the publication of the statement, the Foreign Minister clarified that what was signed yesterday (during the Al-Ula summit) is a statement that defines the main principles and no agreement was reached on publishing this statement .. denying that it was a secret agreement and its publication was not addressed or not.
He pointed out that the rules set for this statement are general rules, and they were mentioned by the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, and whether or not there was any discussion about it, and I do not know the extent of other countries ’interest in publishing the statement.
Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani stressed that the statement does not contain any embarrassment for any country and affirms the main principles of the GCC countries.
He pointed out that the 2014 understandings came in different circumstances and resulted in a different agreement, while the circumstances of the 2017 crisis differ, and what happened in terms of rift differs from the stage of 2014 and the experience of 2014 cannot be applied to it, and we must have a future view of the Cooperation Council.
Regarding what was published in the Egyptian media about requirements in the agreement, His Excellency said: With all due respect to the media of the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt … But what is issued by countries and governments is something else.
He explained that discussions of resolving the crisis took place over a period of 3 months, with the statement issued by the sisterly State of Kuwait after agreeing on a framework for a solution, and we completed these measures with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and we witnessed a real will to heal the rift, stressing that Kuwait made efforts in this file initiated by His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah – may God have mercy on him – and was completed by His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, and these efforts are appreciated.
On the 13 conditions and whether they were included in the agreement, His Excellency affirmed that there are no conditions for any country from another country .. And there are reciprocal steps between countries, on the one hand of the State of Qatar there are issues that arose out of the crisis and there are measures taken by the four countries and it is natural that there are There is a withdrawal or suspension of these procedures and a normal return and work to close the cases legally.
He added: As for the clear steps, it is the return of relations before June 5, and the completion of measures, whether taken by Qatar or other parties.
His Excellency said: We cannot say that this is a success for Qatar or Saudi Arabia or for any state party from the parties to the crisis. It is a success for everyone in taking the decision to end the crisis and look to the future, and the Cooperation Council is the victor in this crisis.
He added: What we have seen in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is that there is a real will to turn the page of the past and look into the future, and there is no doubt that there are differences between us, and they will be dealt with bilaterally.
He stressed that the crisis was not resolved by “love of khum”, indicating that it is one of our customs that we are proud of in the Gulf, but there is a “love of fear with content,” and what we found at the summit of the welcome and real will from the Kingdom to resolve this dispute and move forward and agree on principles between all Countries and be our path in the future.
He added: We consider that what happened is a reconciliation of the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia represents the states parties, and everyone participated and signed the statement.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs affirmed that the Kingdom has its size and weight in the region, and Qatar has the desire to restore its relations with all parties, and announced this on an ongoing basis, and His Highness the Emir of the country said on more than one occasion, “Whoever advances us a mile we will offer him a thousand miles.”
He pointed out that there is a will on the part of the parties to solve the crisis and Saudi Arabia represented them, and we welcomed that and we dealt with Saudi Arabia to reach a solution, and there is no doubt that Qatar does not want to have a crisis with other countries, as we do not seek after a crisis or disagreements and we seek respect between countries and we are working for The region and the elevation of its people.
As for relations with Egypt, His Excellency explained that what was signed is a preliminary document that stipulates principles and issues of relations are discussed bilaterally, indicating that Egypt is a state party to the crisis, and we have our concerns and they have their concerns and there are meetings that will be held between the parties to discuss future solutions and discuss everyone’s concerns.
He added that the details will be discussed with each state party, because each country differs from one state to another, and there will be bilateral discussions for each state party,
And bilateral committees deal with differences between each country, and there must be respect for the sovereignty of states and international law, and we have the will to resolve these differences and to have a future for cooperation. There is no doubt that the dispute has led to a rift, but we believe that the future can be repaired and serve our peoples.
On relations between peoples, His Excellency said that restoring bridges between peoples will be easier than political bridges to provide the appropriate environment to bridge the gap between peoples. We welcome the return of relations between the peoples of the Cooperation Council, and there is no doubt that the means of communication ignited this crisis and we hope that they will be responsible in the future.
He stressed that the issue of “Al-Jazeera” has not been raised, and we are proud of its presence in the State of Qatar and its media. This issue must be dealt with positively. We do not want countries to be the position of hostility to the island or to place the island hostile to any country.
Regarding the American role, he indicated that their efforts are appreciated and appreciated, and they had support for Kuwaiti mediation, and in the regional context, their enthusiasm for reconciliation. We believe that the reason is due to the fact that the Gulf Cooperation Council countries are allies of the United States and there is no doubt that the rift affected the United States and its interest is the unity of the Cooperation Council, and this is what the Americans talked about since The beginning of the crisis.
On the Iranian issue, he stressed that the State of Qatar does not see that the solution is the escalation with Iran, for Iran is a neighboring country and we do not want any escalation towards Iran because the region does not bear such tensions and we want solutions to reduce the escalation, and our message is clear. We do not want escalation, we want to solve crises diplomatically, and we do not want any action. Military to a stage of chaos
Regarding the normalization agreements, the Minister of Foreign Affairs affirmed that it is a sovereign decision for every country, and Qatar’s position on this issue is clear.
On Qatar’s waiting for its role in normalization, he said: “We await our role in normalization if Israel abides by the Arab peace initiative to end the occupation and establish a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital and return refugees … and the State of Qatar will follow this issue, but now we do not see any reason.”
He concluded his statements by saying that the crisis was not simple and it is natural that there were some doubts about its solution, but what is certain is that we have a real will to restore relations according to the principles advocated by the State of Qatar. What happened in the crisis is the exception, but the natural one is the solution and the restoration of relations.
