Qatar has said it had reservations about hardline statements on Iran made at the emergency summits in Makkah organised by Saudi Arabia, Al Jazeera has reported.
“The statements condemned Iran but did not refer to a moderate policy to speak with Tehran,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told Al Jazeera.
The summits “adopted Washington’s policy towards Iran and not one that takes the neighbourhood into consideration”, he added. He questioned the unity called for by neighbouring countries amid an ongoing blockade against Qatar.
“The Gulf summit statement talked about a unified Gulf, but where is it amid the continuation of Qatar’s blockade?” he asked. The summits were attended by Prime Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani. Sheikh Mohammed had earlier told UK-based Al-Araby the meetings’ final statement was made without his country’s input. “The statements of the Gulf and Arab summits were ready in advance and we were not consulted on them. Qatar has reservations on the Arab and Gulf summits because some of their terms are contrary to Doha’s foreign policy,” he said.
“We hoped the Makkah summits would lay the groundwork for a dialogue to reduce tensions with Iran,” he said in comments re-posted on Twitter by his ministry. “The summit ignored the important issues in the region, such as the Palestine issue and the war in Libya and Yemen.”