Gulf Times

Saudi channel distorts US official’s remarks to make false claims

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Saudi-owned television news channel Al-Arabiya has published a story, distorting the statements made by an American diplomat to falsely claim that “Qatar is very open to deal with Israel’.

In comments made after the UAE and Bahrain normalised relations with Israel, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Gulf Affairs, Timothy Lenderking, had said his country wanted all the Gulf states to reach an eventual normalisat­ion of relations with Israel.

In a press briefing, he said “Qatar issued its response to the recent normalisat­ion agreements with Israel, and that Washington understand­s that response”. But he stressed that ‘there is a lot to build on, and each country will move at its own pace on normalisat­ion, and in accordance with its own criteria”.

Qatar has always maintained that any solution to the Middle East dispute has to be based on a just solution to the Palestinia­n issue.

Last week, Qatar’s Assistant Foreign Minister, HE Lolwah bint Rashid AlKhater had said Doha would not join the UAE and Bahrain in establishi­ng diplomatic relations with Israel “unless the conflict with the Palestinia­ns is resolved.”

In an interview with Bloomberg News, she said: “We do not believe that normalisat­ion was the essence to this conflict, and therefore it could not be the solution. The core of this conflict revolves around the harsh conditions in which the Palestinia­ns live. They live without a state, they live under occupation.”

On whether there is pressure from the United States on her country in this regard, AlKhater said: “Our relationsh­ip with the United States is based on mutual respect, and there is a strategic dialogue between Qatar and the United States (held on September 14 and 15), and the question of Palestine is one of the issues on the table.”

In that briefing, Lenderking also announced that the United States hoped to declare Qatar a major nonNato ally. The US official called on the Gulf states to end their difference­s, noting that his country has been in contact with all Gulf parties to resolve the GCC crisis.

Lenderking also praised the Kuwaiti mediation led by the Kuwaiti Amir. The American official stressed the need for the unity of the Gulf countries to face common challenges.

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