We oppose attack on Iran: PM

DOHA: The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani yesterday reiterated that Qatar would oppose any military attack against Iran and will not allow the use of its territory to launch any attack against the Islamic Republic.
“We will never accept any belligerent attack against Iran. Iran and the US know this. We want Iran to solve its difference with the West through dialogue,” the Prime Minister was speaking on Aljazeera’s Bila Hudood (without boundaries) last evening. He added that Qatar will not allow the use of the Al Odaid base to launch military operation against Iran.
On Qatar’s relations with Iraq, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem said Qatar is not boycotting the Arab summit in Baghdad but has sent a message to the Iraqi people.
“We have some observations that must be discussed with our Iraqi brethren,” said the Prime Minister.
He added that convening the Arab summit in Baghdad should act as an incentive for all parties within and outside the government to sit and decide Iraq’s future in a fair manner.
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem said that Qatar wants to see the Syrian people live in peace and stability. Qatar reacted only a month after the Syrian people started their uprising, which began peacefully but was brutally suppressed, a matter that cannot be accepted. What happened to the Syrian people’s peaceful protests was evident to all, he said. He refuted claims that Qatar has pushed the Arab world into a confrontation with the Syrian regime. Qatar may have been more frank in handling the Syria issue, however all other Arab countries agree that what is happening in Syria is unacceptable and an action must be taken, he said.
There might be a marginal difference in the views of Arab countries. Only one or two countries differed. All the statements on Syria were unanimous except for Lebanon, which sometimes kept distance or did not accept the Arab stance, whereas Algeria accepted all the Arab resolutions, but not the UN resolutions.
Algeria accepted all the resolutions, including that of 22nd of January which blamed the Syrian government for the impasse, and worked out a political plan to emerge from the cul de sac. All the Arabs agree on that, the Prime Minister said. He also denied that he had any verbal exchanges with Algerian officials, referring only to an objective dialogue.
Commenting on the Russian Foreign Minister’s statement that ousting of the Assad regime means establishment of another Sunni state in the Arab world, the Prime Minister said, the Russian leader could have better said we are trying for a regime change in Syria. “We want to avoid any type of confrontation between Sunnis and Shias in any part of the world because it is not in the interest of Islam and Muslims. And who would rule Syria would be decided by the Syrian people, not by us or Russia,”
The Prime Minister rejected allegations that Qatar sought to kindle a civil war in Syria and that, in cooperation with Saudi Arabia, sponsored the explosions in Damascus and Aleppo.
He noted that a strong relationship had bound Qatar with the Syrian regime and people. He, however, said that now a choice should be made between a people and a leader.
“We in Qatar and all the Arab world will choose the people since we cannot support a leader’s slaughter of his own people,’’ he said. He said it was highly important to protect Syria’s potentials and resources. He appealed to the Syrian President to stop the destruction in his country and to embark on a political solution as per the January 22 Arab League resolutions. Those resolutions spoke of a transitional and a coalition government that encompasses both the opposition and the current regime, prior to elections, he added.
In reply to a question about Egyptian newspaper reports that there was US pressure on Qatar to stop providing aid to Egypt, he said Qatar would not give in to any pressure. Though Qatar has a special relationship with the US, it differs with Washington over many issues, especially concerning the US-Israeli relations and the Palestinian cause.
Qatar accords due attention to its relationship with Egypt, the biggest and most important Arab country, he said, adding “we want to cooperate with Egypt and want Egypt to take into consideration all the Arab interests and the desires of the Arab people.”
Asked about the fear about the Muslim Brotherhood forming government in Egypt, the Prime Minister said: “Whether we are scared or not, the issue of who would rule Egypt was decided by the Egyptian people. I don’t have voting right in the Egyptian elections. I cannot do anything but watch who is going to be elected and deal with those elected by the Egyptian people.”

The Peninsula