WASHINGTON: Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said measures taken against Qatar were painful considering its status as a brotherly and neighboring country, but were warranted due to its support for terrorist and extremist organizations, as well as its interference in the internal affairs of other countries.
In an interview with journalists at the Saudi Embassy in Washington, he said such interference was rejected not only by countries boycotting Qatar, but by all countries. He expressed hope that wisdom will prevail in Doha to put an end to such interventionism.
“We presented our list of demands to Qatar and clarified our position and took our decision, and the list of demands is non-negotiable and must be fully enforced,” said Al-Jubeir.
During his visit to the US, he participated in meetings with 30 members of the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress, and with heads of committees from the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, Saudi Ambassador to the UN Abdullah Al-Mouallimi said Qatar insisted on destabilizing Saudi and regional security, and supporting terrorism that threatens the whole world.
Doha is participating with Tehran in creating regional chaos, and Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have taken a sovereign decision to boycott Qatar in order to maintain security and press it to stop supporting terrorism, he added.
Qatar has chosen to be an ally of Iran, and for 20 years has supported terrorist groups with knowledge of their plots against countries in the region, Al-Mouallimi said. This has made Qatar a primary haven for terrorists, who are allowed to conspire against other countries, he added.
Doha was given several opportunities to stop supporting terrorism and interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, most recently in 2013 and 2014, but it did not comply, he said.