‘Qatar-US accord on combating terror funding is insufficient’

THE ARAB STATES SAID SANCTIONS AGAINST QATAR WOULD CONTINUE UNTIL DOHA “COMMITS TO COMPREHENSIVELY IMPLEMENT (THEIR)

JUST DEMANDS”.

An agreement between Qatar and the United States on combating terror funding is “insufficient”, the four Arab states that imposed sanctions on the emirate said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The memorandum of understanding announced in Doha during a visit by US secretary of state Rex Tillerson is “the result of pressure and repeated calls over the past years by the four states and their partners upon Qatar to stop supporting terrorism,” said Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE.

“This step is insufficient,” said the statement carried by Saudi state news agency SPA, adding that the four states will “monitor the seriousness of Qatari authorities in combating all forms of financing, supporting and harbouring terrorism.”

The statement said commitments made by Qatari authorities “cannot be trusted,” citing previous agreements that have allegedly not been honoured.

It called for “strict monitoring controls to ensure its (Doha’s) seriousness in getting back to the natural and right path.”

Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said Qatar was the first country in the region to sign an agreement with the US to counter terror funding and called on what he called the “siege” nations to sign their own agreements with Washington. AFP