Qatar has leadership, vision to be reliable partner for peace, security in the region: Foreign Minister

(MENAFN - The Peninsula) Saint Petersburg: The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani stressed that the State of Qatar has a wise leadership and a clear vision to be a reliable partner for peace and security in the region and the world, saying that Qatar has been a facilitating country and a mediator between the various conflicting parties and has proven its success for decades in this field, and it is not something new for Qatar but a continuation of the same path. This came during his participation in a session entitled "West Asia and North Africa.. Paths Towards Stability and Prosperity," which was organized by the Doha Forum during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2021. On the recent developments in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli governments request from the United States for $1 billion and military aid to restore the Iron Dome, the Minister said that what led to the situation that happened in Gaza is not related to the restoration of the Iron Dome, or how strong or steadfast the Israelis are, but in fact with the behaviour of the Israelis in Jerusalem recently, mainly the evacuation of the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood and the provocation that occurred to the people trying to reach Al-Aqsa Mosque, most of whom are Muslims and Christians. The Foreign Minister considered that all these behaviours angered the people in the West Bank and Gaza, and led to the latest round of violence, which unfortunately witnessed the killing of children, innocents, and civilians and the destruction of the Gaza Strip as a result of the recent raids, stressing the need to focus on building peace rather than focusing only on the resilience of one side or the other in the conflict. In response to a question about the following countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council that will join the "Abraham Accords," along with the UAE and Bahrain, or is such a decision premature, he said, "We cannot judge whether the decision was premature or mature enough. We see from our point of view in Qatar, which I can comment on, that the main reason for the lack of a relationship between us and Israel is the occupation of the Palestinian territories, and the reason is still there, still valid, and there is no step or any hope toward peace yet. We did’nt see any light at the end of the tunnel."  He pointed out that "back in the 1990s, after the Madrid and Oslo negotiations, there was some hope that we could achieve peace, and Qatar took the first step at that time and opened trade missions for exchange between Qatar and Israel and had a relationship until 2008 when the war in Gaza, however, we decided after that to close the offices because we believe that what we have done has not contributed anything to peace." His Excellency explained, "Now we see that there are principles on which there is unanimity, one of which is the Arab Peace Initiative and the principles of the Quartet, and we believe that if there is a willingness on the Israeli side, which it has not demonstrated during the past decades, this will constitute a good starting point, which is the recognition of the Palestinian state, and then All Arabs can go ahead and then establish a relationship with Israel." He added, "So it's not really about a country on its own having a relationship with Israel because that's not a solution to the entire conflict, but I think we have to address the conflict first; at least for us from our point of view in Qatar, then we take the step to have the peace with Israelis." On whether he is concerned that Naftali Bennett may not be the best person to make peace, the Minister said, "We cannot comment on something that is not known yet. There is a coalition that we have heard about that will form the new government, but it has not taken the oath yet, and no one knows what will happen in the next few days and whether there will be changes in conditions there," pointing out, "What we want is to see a government that has a vision of a Palestinian state, that has a vision that takes some serious steps toward peace and stops any action that provokes the Palestinians, especially with regard to Jerusalem, which is very sensitive for everyone, for Muslims, for Christians, for everyone." The Deputy Prime Minister also expressed his belief that "any behaviour that talks about new settlements, or what they call the activities of the settler communities, which led to the evacuation of Sheikh Jarrah, will not help in resolving the issue and will be counterproductive and keep us in this circle, a day of violence, a day of the cease-fire and so on," adding, "I think we need a government that leads a process towards achieving peace by recognizing the Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital." Regarding the focus of the administration of US President Joe Biden on the Iranian file, Qatar's willingness in the past to facilitate discussions between the Taliban movement and the US, between other partners, and with Hamas and Qatar's vision to achieve peace and a two-state solution, the Deputy Prime Minister said that Qatar has always been a reliable partner for peace and security in the region and has facilitated and mediated between the various conflicting parties. The Foreign Minister said, "About Iran and the United States, it is in our interest not only in Qatar, but also in the Gulf Cooperation Council states that there be an agreement between them, that there is an agreement that also stops the nuclear race that is taking place in our region, and it is in our interest not to see any escalation between the US And Iran, the United States is a strategic ally for Qatar, and we want to maintain this strategic alliance. Iran is our next-door neighbor, and we want to see stability over there." He stated that if both parties request Qatar to participate in facilitating matters, Qatar will certainly do so. "Right now, we are just conveying the message for both parties to be more positive and more constructive in engaging with each other, and to reach a deal as soon as possible," he said. On the US' designation of several movements in the region as terrorist organizations, and whether Qatar's willingness to facilitate negotiations between these parties puts it at odds with the US, the Foreign Minister said, "We respect each country's designation of the matter, which may sometimes apply to our regulations and sometimes may not, for example, one of the designated parties was (Taliban), but ultimately the US needed to talk to them to end this conflict.. and we think it is better for the US to have a friend to talk to its opponents and enemies instead of talking to their opponents through other enemies." He continued, "Therefore, I think that this has proven to be beneficial for everyone. Communication and maintaining this open channel with the various parties is in the interest of regional security and stability, which is what Qatar aims for. The existence of a communication or a relationship does not mean support or even belief in the same principles and ideologies. So, there is a clear distinction between these two elements. Communication is only to help promote peace and stability because we believe in Qatar that no conflict will end militarily and all conflicts will end diplomatically."MENAFN05062021000063011010ID1102215926