The Gulf crisis cannot be trivialised as a “small issue” because it has direct consequences on the region’s security besides affecting the lives of people both in Qatar and the blockading countries, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister HE Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani has said.
Asked about his views about the statement of Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, who described “the crisis with Qatar as a small issue”, Sheikh Mohamed pointed out that for Doha the crisis was not a small thing for its huge impact on the region. “It has reflected on the Qatari people, in particular at the humanitarian level, in addition to education and health issues. The citizens of the blockading countries have also been negatively impacted. Accordingly, it is not small and has never been small,” the minister said adding that for the first time a political dispute within the GCC has ended up affecting the very lives of the people of the region.
Answering questions after giving a lecture at the Arab Center for Research & Policy Studies on the topic “Gulf Crisis in the Regional Context”, he said the Qatar-US relationship is part of a strategic relationship between America and all the GCC countries, “and the real value of the relationship derives its strength from the whole organisation and its unity”.
He pointed out that Qatar played a key role in such a relationship as it hosts a major US airbase and the US Joint Central Command, which are instrumental in fighting terrorism.
He said though the US president called for a meeting at Camp David to discuss the Gulf crisis there was no response from the blockading countries and the efforts of the US Secretary of State have also been met with the same response, but Qatar was willing and open for talks and welcomed such initiatives.
Regarding the list of 59 wanted persons submitted by the siege countries, he said that it was not based on any international rules nor did it represent any international organisation.
The foreign minister said the humanitarian aid provided by Qatar-based organisations in different parts of the world will go on as usual and they enjoy good international reputation. “The accusations of terrorism are baseless. Besides these accusations have been only claims and nobody has submitted any proof yet.”
He said that the stability and security of Iraq was key to the region and Qatar was looking forward to taking part in its reconstruction.
Regarding Yemen, he said the humanitarian situation there is deteriorating and political rivalries should not be allowed to hinder aid and relief work.