Arab coalition issue four statements on Qatari Crisis

CAIRO – 5 July 2017: The four foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain issued on Wednesday four statement clarifying their stance on the Qatari crisis.

The statement was made after a lengthy meeting that was held in Cairo and lasted for four hours.

In the statement, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that he discussed in a meeting with his Saudi, Emirati and Bahraini counterparts the ongoing efforts to prevent Qatar's support of terrorism and its interference in the affairs of neighboring countries.

The four countries’ stance underlines the importance of abiding by international agreements, charters and resolutions on combating all forms of extremism and terrorism and drying up their sources of funding, Egypt’s top diplomat added.

The four states also call for putting an end to all incitement acts and hate speech, Shoukry noted.
In their joint statement, they stressed on commitment to the Riyadh declaration issued in 2013, as well as its executive rules issued in 2014.

They further rejected any interference in the domestic affairs of Arab countries, and voiced support for the outcome of the Arab-Islamic-US summit held in Riyadh in 2017.

The top diplomats held the international community responsible for facing all forms of extremism and terrorism in the world, which pose a threat to international security.

The demands presented to Qatar aimed at maintaining Arab national security and combating terrorism in the world.

The four countries asserted in the statement that measures taken against Qatar were a result of Doha's violations of its commitments under the International Law and its constant interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries and its support for terrorism.

The four states thanked Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah for mediation efforts to resolve the crisis with Qatar, regretting the negative reply of Doha.

They stressed their full keenness on the importance of the relations and their deep appreciation for the Qatari people.

They hoped wisdom will prevails, so a right decision will be taken by Qatar.

The four countries stressed that it is the time for the international community to shoulder its responsibility towards bringing an end to the support for extremism and terrorism.
The four countries expressed appreciation for the decisive stance of U.S. President Donald Trump that support for terrorism must be immediately halted.