Emirati FM: Qatar’s stance towards Egypt was reckless

CAIRO – 17 July 2017: Qatar’s double standards were strongly witnessed during the American aggression on Iraq, Emirati Foreign Minister Anwar Mohammed Qarqash said on Monday.

In a press conference in London, Qarqash stressed that western countries have discussed Qatar’s contradictory positions during the Iraqi war when it permitted the launch of U.S. airstrikes from the Doha-based Al-Udeid Air Base while broadcasting Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Zarqawi messages at the same time.

Qatar has supported terrorists in Libya, most of whom were accused of committing terrorist attacks in Europe, and funded extremists such as Abdel Rahman al-Nuaimi whose strong ties with the Al-Qaeda organization were proven before being added to the international terrorists’ wanted list, Qarqash added.

He criticized the Qatari stance against Egypt since the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi following mass protests by Egyptians in 2013, adding that “Qatar’s stance towards Egypt was reckless.” Qarqash further attested, “Qatar spent millions of dollars to destabilize security order in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.”

“Qatar has supported terrorism and extremism since 1995,” Qarqash said during the press conference held in London, adding that “escalation measures against Qatar that may be taken by the UAE will be within the legitimate sovereign rights.”

He manifested that international pressures on Qatar seem good, although Qatar has not “responded to the mediation attempts.”