Qatar calls for keeping the region nuclear-free

In a statement on Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Qatar, like the rest of the GCC states, was not party to this agreement, but given its geographical location and its political and historical relations with the parties of the agreement, would be directly affected by any repercussions of the decisions taken by these parties.

"In this context, Qatar stresses that the main priority is for the Middle East to be a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone and to stop the arms race by regional powers. The State of Qatar stresses the need for collective action by the international community to ensure the prevention of a possible nuclear arms race, where parties end up losing trust in one another.

"The process of the denuclearisation of the region primarily aims at laying the foundations of peace and stability in a manner that contributes to the preservation of human lives as well as pushing forward the process of development to achieve prosperity for all the peoples of the region. Thus, all actors should take into account that the price of their efforts to denuclearise the Middle East shall not be another escalation that the peoples of the region cannot bear.

"The State of Qatar values the efforts of all international and regional actors and the partners of the agreement who seek to defuse any possible escalation and find solutions to denuclearise the region. It is in the best interest of all parties to exercise self-restraint, deal wisely with the situation and try to resolve existing differences through dialogue," the statement added.