Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir underlined the need to spare the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) the repercussions of the Qatari crisis.
Speaking during a press conference following the closing session of the GCC 39th summit, Al-Jubeir said: “The members of the Gulf Cooperation Council are keen that the crisis with Qatar will have no impact on the Council.”
“But this does not mean relinquishing the conditions imposed on Qatar,” he added, noting that Doha should stop supporting terrorism and extremism and avoid interfering in other countries’ affairs.
He stressed that Qatar needed to fulfil the Arab countries’ conditions to open the way for its return to the full-fledged work in the council.
“Brothers in Qatar know what is required of them to return as an active member of the council,” Al-Jubeir said in a joint news conference with GCC Secretary General Abdulatif Al-Zayani.
“The Gulf States are one family and any disagreement is resolved within the Gulf house. The stance towards Qatar came to push it to change its policies,” he added.
Commenting on Jamal Khashoggi’s case, the foreign minister said: “The Turkish authorities have not been as forthcoming as we believe they should have been.”
Khashoggi’s investigations “are carried out in line with the procedures of the Saudi judiciary,” he said, pointing out that his country does not extradite its citizens.
Al-Zayani, for his part, said that the Riyadh summit, held under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, was successful and fruitful.
He added that the discussions focused on joint cooperation and emphasized the unity of GCC members.
