Doha / Information Office / October 22

HE Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani stressed that the State of Qatar believe that the convening of any GCC meeting is a golden opportunity to at least start a dialogue in a civilized manner and in accordance with the established diplomatic channels in this regard, noting that the State of Qatar has received no official reports or messages regarding a postponement of the Gulf summit, hoping that the summit will take place as scheduled.

Speaking on Sunday during a joint press conference with HE U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, HE the foreign minister said that any postponement of such an important meeting for Gulf leaders will be due to the intransigence of the siege countries and their rejection of dialogue.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani noted that the GCC is important as a system of collective security, expressing his regret that it has become a victim of such a fabricated crisis against the State of Qatar and noting that this unjust crisis has directly affected the collective security of the GCC countries because of the irresponsible actions of the siege countries.

Officials of the siege countries always resort to non-diplomatic methods that have nothing to do with international relations in their modern perspective such as the use of tribalism and the politicization of religion and other irresponsible behaviors, HE the foreign minister said.

He expressed the State of Qatar's commitment to the GCC as a system and stressed the importance of this system for the collective security of the region, wishing that the siege countries would share this perspective with the State of Qatar so that these countries would shoulder their responsibility in terms of engaging in a positive and serious dialogue to put an end to this crisis that has no clear reasons so far neither to the State of Qatar nor to any of its allies.

On the Iranian influence in the region, HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said the position of the State of Qatar was clear before the Gulf crisis and remains so during and even after it. "Doha's stance is the same; rejection of any negative influence and interference in the region and the Arab world as a whole. The State of Qatar was and still is clear in expression of these sources of concern."

HE the foreign minister added that the State of Qatar believes that the current crisis undermines endeavors to resolve the regional issues and disrupts efforts to combat terrorism despite claims of siege countries' officials that they face it, while, on the contrary, they negatively affect these efforts by imposing unfair measures on a country that, until a recent time, was a strong ally for them.

He added that the State of Qatar has followed a clear policy regarding Iran and remains committed to solving all regional problems through dialogue, and this is not only the position of the State of Qatar, but rather the rest of the GCC countries.

"In our last meeting last year in Bahrain, the leaders pledged to engage in a serious dialogue with Iran on the basis of the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of any party, and to stop any negative influence in the region," he said, adding that "we remain committed to these principles and to resort to dialogue."

Referring to the recent statements by the Bahraini foreign minister on the crisis, HE the foreign minister said that the crisis has shown "many marvels" and added that there are "allegations by so-called leaders of diplomacy, in which we unfortunately did not see any diplomacy or maturity," describing the statements as "comic."

HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said that those who make these allegations and talk about "social repression" have "the worst forms of social repression" in their countries. "Who talks about stirring up strife is the one who stirs it," HE the foreign minister said, directing a message to them that those who make these allegations must stop disregarding their peoples and the minds of all GCC peoples, and rise with their rhetoric.

On the Kuwaiti mediation, HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani stressed Qatar's position that the Kuwaiti mediation is the umbrella for resolving the crisis. He affirmed his support for the Kuwaiti mediation and all the countries that adopt it and stand behind it, for the status enjoyed by the State of Kuwait among the GCC States, noting the importance of relying on the GCC system for stability and collective security.

HE the foreign minister also praised the efforts of HH Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and his mission that confirms the commitment of the State of Kuwait to dialogue in mediation despite the difficulties and intransigence that it faces from the siege countries.

HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani pointed out that there are attempts by the siege countries to claim normalization of the current situation. He stressed that any measures taken in this regard are against international relations, and that in no way bad humanitarian situation can be normalized such as separation of families or normalizing the issue of 26,000 people affected by the siege and those who were dispersed by these unjust measures. HE the minister stressed that the word "normalization" should not be used at a time when the siege countries continue inciting and disbursing the money of their people irresponsibly to open up fronts in the West against the State of Qatar to distribute lies and allegations.

He added: "Their claim of normalization is incorrect and baseless. If they consider the issue to be normalized, then they should carry out the process properly and transparently for all actions taken, and not continue the series of incitement and interference in the internal affairs of the State of Qatar."

At the beginning of the press conference, HE Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said that he had discussed with his U.S. counterpart the importance of strong bilateral relations between the State of Qatar and the United States, which are strategic in various fields including defense, economy and education.

He also noted that the talks touched on regional issues including the Syrian, Libyan and Palestinian issues, and that all efforts aimed at bridging the gap between all the Palestinian forces to reach the ground for effective peace talks according to the Arab peace initiative were emphasized, adding that "there were also discussions on various topics, including the important role of the United States in the fight against terrorism and maintaining security in partnership with all the countries of the region, which unfortunately began to suffer turmoil due to this crisis by the siege countries."

For his part, HE Tillerson reaffirmed the importance of the issues that were discussed today, including bilateral efforts to combat terrorism in the region, in addition to the Gulf crisis and a number of issues of mutual interest.

The U.S. secretary of State addressed the progress made in implementing the memorandum of understanding on counterterrorism, which was signed between the State of Qatar and the United States in July. "Significant progress has been made and a number of important efforts in our counterterrorism joint efforts, including the sharing of terrorist lists and terrorist financing. We have participated in a number of counterterrorism technical sessions and training. And significant steps have been taken to enhance aviation security," he said, expressing delight with the progress in strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries in counterterrorism.

HE Tillerson said the United States will continue to work closely with the State of Qatar to crack down on terrorists, noting that U.S. President Donald Trump places the issue of counterterrorism among his priorities.

The U.S. secretary of state expressed concern over the Gulf crisis, which is nearing the five months' mark. "The United States remains concerned today as it was at the outset" of the crisis, he said, adding that "the united States has felt the effects" of the situation and thinks "it is very important for GCC to continue to pursue unity" because "none of us can afford to let this dispute linger."

He called on all the parties involved to "continue to work towards discussion and dialogue and finding a way to deal with the differences," expressing hope that all parties would "minimize the rhetoric and de-escalate the tensions" in order to reach a solution for the crisis.

HE Tillerson said the United States will continue to do its part in supporting the mediation efforts led by HH Emir of Kuwait to find a diplomatic solution and will "continue to engage all parties" in order to "better help them understand their concerns and possibly find a solution."

In addition, he thanked the State of Qatar for donating $30 million to alleviate the suffering and impacts of the hurricanes in his country, hailing the ties linking the United States with Qatar. He said that there are mutual interests and businesses between the two countries and the size of Qatari investments in the United States is huge and "we look forward to expanding the economic relationship between our two countries" on the long term.

The U.S. secretary of state said his country "does not have any intention to impose a solution on anyone" in the crisis. "We are staying in very close contact with all of the parties," he said, adding that President Trump spoke to the leaders of the countries involved and stressed that "he believes it is time to find a solution to this dispute."

HE Tillerson said the United States is prepared to facilitate dialogue either by facilitating the discussions or offering roadmaps, adding that "the parties have to come to that point that they are ready to solve this."

" We have expressed our view that we think it is time that a solution be sought and we are going to continue to make these points. We are going to continue to offer whatever assistance we can whether it be hosting dialogue or facilitating dialogue, and support the ongoing efforts" of the Kuwaiti mediation, HE Tillerson said. "But it is not for the U.S. to impose" a solution on anyone, he added.

He noted that there is not a strong indication from the siege countries that they are ready to talk yet, adding that his country can't force talks on parties that are not ready to talk, so "there has been no invitation" to the White House for negotiations because "it is not clear that the parties are ready to engage."

On whether the current crisis is in Iran's favor, Tillerson said that "anytime there is a conflict and destabilization among countries that are typically allies, someone will always come to exploit those differences."

As for the situation in Iraq, the U.S. secretary of state said his country has "encouraged restraint and the minimization of any kind of conflict" between forces involving either the Kurdistan Peshmerga or the Iraqi government coalition, adding that the U.S. encourages the parties to engage in dialogue to "fully implement the Iraqi constitution" and urges them to "not forget that the war to defeat ISIS is not yet over and that remains the greatest threat to Iraq."