Qatar rejects terror blacklist

EMIRATE CHOOSES DIPLOMACY

Qatar yesterday dismissed as “baseless” a terrorism blacklist published by Saudi Arabia and its allies which linked individuals and organisations in Doha to support for Islamist militant groups.

The emirate was responding hours after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain published a list of 59 entities linked to “terrorism”.

“The recent joint statement issued by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE regarding a ‘terror finance watch list’ once again reinforces baseless allegations,” Qatar’s government said in a statement.

Qatar does not support terrorism, it stressed, pointing out that “our position on countering terrorism is stronger than many of the signatories of the joint statement – which has been conveniently ignored by the authors”.

Included on the list were Doha-based Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Qatari-funded charities.

The list and response add to the diplomatic and political tensions in the Gulf that have erupted since Saudi Arabia and its allies severed ties with Qatar over its alleged support for extremism.

Qatar has vehemently denied the claims and on Thursday its foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, said his country would not “surrender”.

In a bid to drum up support for his country with the crisis showing no signs of abating, the minister made a surprise visit yesterday to Germany where he pledged to pursue a diplomatic path out of the deadlock.

The actions taken by Saudi Arabia and its allies amounted to “a clear breach of the international law and won’t result in a positive impact on the region”, he said, hitting out at the terrorism blacklist.

“There is a continuous escalation from these countries but our options are still diplomacy and dialogue,” added Sheikh Mohammed, after talks with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel.

“There are ongoing efforts from friendly countries to contain the crisis and lift the unjust blockade on Qatar and start negotiations,” added the Qatari minister, who is travelling to Moscow tomorrow to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

Kuwait has taken on the mediator role in the crisis, and French President Emmanuel Macron has also reached out to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iran in a bid to kick off talks. – AFP