Smear campaign won’t deter Qatar from pursuing peace in region: PM

Doha, Qatar: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani has said Qatar will continue its efforts for peace and stability in the region despite a campaign by some to cast doubt on its role.

“Some low-level politicians accused Qatar in the media. These are false claims. Qatar is a peace-loving country, and this is our nature … Such reprehensible behavior, characterised by bullying, political blackmail, and the dissemination of misinformation will never deter us from continuing our efforts to achieve security and peace in our region,” he said, addressing a joint press conference along with Turkish Foreign Minister H E Hakan Fidan in Doha yesterday.

“Relations between Qatari institutions and US academic institutions are transparent, and relations with US universities are limited to universities that work in Qatar, under Qatar Foundation,” the Prime Minister remarked, adding that any contribution by a Qatari institution goes through the official channels only.

The Prime Minister and the Turkish top diplomat discussed efforts for Gaza ceasefire and humanitarian aid delivery, as well as the situation in Syria, Lebanon, and the region. They also discussed the efforts and outcomes of the meetings of a joint OIC-Arab League ministerial committee to end the war on Gaza. The Premier said Qatar is continuing its mediation efforts for renewal of the ceasefire in Gaza. “We are working along with Egypt and the US to move forward. We cannot accept starvation of the Palestinian people, and using starvation as a weapon of war,” he asserted.

To questions, Sheikh Mohammed said talks held on Thursday for Gaza ceasefire have made a bit of progress. “We have seen a bit of progress on Thursday. But we need to find the answer to the ultimate question — how to end this war. That’s the key point of entire negotiations.” However, he hinted at continuing differences and a lack of a common goal and objective in positions of both Hamas and Israel, with the former keen on a permanent truce while the latter focused on release of hostages only. Qatar, however, is continuing its endeavours along with Egypt and the US, the PM said. Sheikh Mohammed said he held very fruitful discussions on this subject in his meetings with US Secretary of State H E Marco Rubio and US Special Envoy to the Middle East H E Steve Witkoff on Tuesday. 

“It’s about time to end this unnecessary war, and the siege (on Gaza) should not continue.” The two sides also discussed the US-Iran nuclear talks and lauded Oman’s efforts in this regard.

Qatar and Turkiye also discussed efforts for Syria’s reconstruction and stability and stressed the need to lift sanctions on Syria to help the country in its reconstruction and development efforts.

Addressing the press conference, Fidan hailed the strategic Qatar-Turkiye partnership and growing economic, trade and defence ties. “Our efforts here are to complement Qatar’s efforts and to stop genocide in Gaza. Israel is ethnically cleansing Palestinians. Priority is ceasefire and exchange of prisoners.” He thanked Qatar for its efforts and said the whole region was indebted to Qatar for the role it is playing.

He said sanctions are hindering Syria’s development. “We do not accept any intervention that goes against Syria’s sovereignty. We support a system where all Syrians live together. We are against divisions.”