LONDON 18 June 2017: Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adel bin Ahmed Al Jubeir has said that the position taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt, to sever ties with Qatar was as a result of the country’s failure to adhere to repeated requests, set out in 2013 and 2014, to end its support of terrorism and extremism, and involvement in conflicts in the region.
The Saudi Press Agency, SPA, quoted Al Jubeir as saying that the recent decisions were made to send a message to Doha, who added, “We consider Qatar an ally in the Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC, countries and we do not seek to harm Qatari citizens, but the current situation must be corrected. Doha cannot continue its current policy and must stop financing terrorism.”
Al Jubeir said that he was going to address and explain to the Qataris all the points led to the current diplomatic crisis, hoping that Doha would address these issues, said Wam.
He highlighted that Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the historic Arab Islamic American Summit brought together the US and a number of Muslim and Arab countries with the aim of better dialogue between Arab and Islamic countries and their counterparts in the West.11
The Gulf Cooperation Council countries have partnered with the US in the fight against the financing of terrorism, a move that is of great importance in the efforts to drain the sources of funding of terrorist organisations and extremist groups all, Al-Jubeir added.
The minister also referred to the situation in Yemen, where expressed the Kingdom’s concern on the siege imposed by Houthi groups in some areas, causing famine and hindering the arrival of medical and food aid. He pointed out that the coalition forces are working to lift the siege and reach the needy as soon as possible.
According to Al Jubeir, the Saudi government has allocated US$800 million to address the crisis through the King Salman Centre for Relief and Humanitarian Aid.
He explained that the Kingdom hosted a reconstruction conference in Yemen in cooperation with the World Bank and allocated over $US10 billion for these efforts.
Al-Jubeir said that the end of the Syrian crisis would be attained via a political solution in accordance with the First Geneva Declaration and the UNSC Resolution No. 2254.
The minister reiterated Saudi Arabia’s commitment to fighting and defeating Daesh in Syria and throughout the world.
He also reiterated the support of the Kingdom for steps taken by the Iraqi government to fight against the terrorist organisation and welcomed Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi who will visit Saudi Arabia next Monday to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to develop them.
The Saudi foreign minister also highlighted that the Iranian regime continues to ignite violence by intervening in the affairs of various countries in the region, supporting terrorist groups in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain, and planting Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Syria and Iraq in blatant violation of international laws and norms.
He said that Iran should act as a committed state if it wanted to return to the international community, should halt its aggressive actions and support of militias. He expressed his pessimism concerning the regime in Tehran changing its approach to regional and international affairs.
As for Libya, Al-Jubeir explained that the Kingdom is coordinating with its international partners to restore the country’s stability and not to allow the spread of terrorism in Libya and Africa.
By Eudore R. Chand