Qatar said on Sunday it had reservations about hardline statements on Iran made at emergency summits in Mecca organized by Saudi Arabia.
“The statements of the [Persian] Gulf and Arab summits were ready in advance and we were not consulted on them,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s foreign minister, told Al Jazeera.
“The statements condemned Iran but did not refer to a moderate policy to speak with Tehran,” he said.
The summits “adopted Washington’s policy towards Iran and not one that takes the neighborhood into consideration”, the Qatari FM added.
“We hoped the Mecca summits would lay the groundwork for dialogue to reduce tensions with Iran,” the top diplomat said in comments reposted on Twitter by his ministry.
He questioned the unity called for by neighboring countries amid an ongoing blockade against the Gulf country.
“The Gulf summit statement talked about a unified Gulf, but where is it amid the continuation of Qatar’s blockade?” he said.
“The Mecca summit ignored the important issues in the region, such as the Palestine issue and the war in Libya and Yemen,” Al Thani went on to say.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani attended the event that saw participation of member countries from Organization of Islamic Countries, Arab League and Gulf Cooperation Council.
Source: Agencies
