Doha welcomes US efforts to resolve crisis

HE the Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani has welcomed US efforts in resolving the crisis and described the latest move by Washington to send two envoys to the Gulf as an “important” step towards ending the impasse in the region.Addressing a joint press conference with his Italian counterpart Angelino Alfano in Doha yesterday, he stressed that all international efforts in this regard were in support of Kuwaiti mediation in resolving the dispute. On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced the appointment of Timothy Lenderking, US deputy assistant secretary for the Arabian Peninsula, and retired General Anthony Zinni, former head of the US Central Command, to travel to the Arab Gulf region next week to engage with the parties involved. A State Department official said the US envoys would “provide US support to the government of Kuwait’s mediation efforts”.Referring to the US announcement, HE Sheikh Mohamed said the Emir of Kuwait is the mediator and the one who sets the course of action, highlighting the importance of the role played by the US to resolve the crisis.The US president delegated his Secretary of State to lead the American efforts, but there are steps to be followed, and that is why Tillerson announced that he would send delegates for follow-up and to enhance mediation efforts, HE the Foreign Minister said.HE Sheikh Mohamed said he had assured his Italian counterpart that the ongoing Gulf crisis was a fabricated one since its outbreak. It started with a cybercrime and was followed by measures taken by the siege countries on the basis of that crime and which had no political basis as being claimed by those nations, he added.There is a lack of good intentions, as was evident in the behaviour of the siege countries, HE the Foreign Minister said, referring in this regard to the Manama meeting’s outcome and final communique, which was based on the 13 demands that were initially considered as null.Referring to contradictions in the siege countries’ positions, HE Sheikh Mohamed said renewing the 13 demands at the Manama meeting – which considered as null after 10 days of their submission – was the biggest evidence of a behaviour that did not harbour good intentions to resolve the issue.As for the Saudi foreign minister shaking hands with his Iranian counterpart while the siege countries call on Qatar to reduce its diplomatic representation with Tehran, HE Sheikh Mohamed said this is a matter that only concerns the two countries. While Qatar does not control or interfere in bilateral relations involving the siege countries, it requests for non-interference in the internal affairs of States, he added.On the next steps, HE the Foreign Minister stressed that Qatar has advocated dialogue since the beginning of the crisis as a best way to resolve it, stressing in this context the importance of Kuwaiti mediation. Qatar did not set any conditions for entering into a dialogue except the availability of logical conditions and a logical and legal context, HE the Foreign Minister noted. The basis of the dialogue is to withdraw the illegal measures taken by the siege countries and refrain from violating the sovereignty of any State, he continued, stressing that there should be no dictates from States to another state but collective obligations instead. This is the Qatari proposal, HE Sheikh Mohamed stressed.