Prince Mansour bin Khalid bin Abdullah bin Farhan, Saudi ambassador to Spain, said that the decision of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Bahrain and the Arab Republic of Egypt to sever diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar together with seven more countries who either cut or withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar was a result of Qatar's continuing policies of financing terrorism, providing harbor for terrorist leaders, and practicing hostile policies against its neighbors. In an interview with Almondo Spanish newspaper, the ambassador said the decision was not surprising as the GCC countries have exerted strenuous efforts over the past years to dissuade Qatar from continuing its policies of financing terror organizations, hostile polices against its neighbors, and harboring the leaders of militant and zealot organizations but in vain. So, it is obvious that all countries who cut their ties with Qatar are right and Qatar is solely standing wrong, he said. He went on to say that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain have withdrawn their ambassadors from Doha when Qatar was not complying with their appeal. Later, Qatar changed its mind and expressed readiness to meet the demands of the three countries. In 2013 the Emir of Qatar himself signed Riyadh declaration and the 2014 complementary arrangement. But later, it appeared that Qatar is again not living up to its commitment. He said the recent demands presented to Qatar were not impossible as they were described by Doha, he said, adding that most of them were part of a comprehensive arrangement signed by Qatar. Moreover, most of the names on the terror wanted list which was endorsed by the four countries are on the U.S. and European terror wanted list. But Qatar was not complying. During the Arab, Islamic American conference, held recently in Riyadh, which gathered U.S. Donald Trump and leaders of 55 Islamic countries, it was agreed that we should firmly face terrorism and bar its financing and patronizing. However, Qatar, who was present in the conference, was the only who renegaded its outcome. Just convening the conference is yet another proof that we adopted diplomacy and dialogue to solve the difference in an amicable way based on the current ties with the sisterly people of Qatar who are an integral part of the GCC and Arab societies. The ambassador expressed pity to the Qatari negative response to the demands list presented by the Arab quartet, noting that its rejection confirms its insistence to stick to the current behavior, a source of difference on the pretext of tampering its sovereignty and its foreign policy independence regardless of the danger of this policy on the security of its neighbors, the region and the world. The ambassador recalled that the Qatari government claimed that it was subject to siege . This is absurd, he said, adding that Qatar skies, airports and ports are open despite the boycott decision, a sole sovereign and legitimate right for any country to choose. He said Qatar is trying to give an ideal example of its support for freedoms, democracy and free media, an elusive way to cover its dangerous policy and detrimental behavior to the security of the people of the region and the world, the Saudi ambassador to Spain told the paper. He cited Qatar's finance to Al-Nosrah front in Syria and Defense Regiments organization in Libya as examples of financing terror organizations under the pretext of supporting freedom of media and opinion. On the contrary, Qatar is financing some media channels who transmit hatred, extremism and sparking violence. He drew the attention that Al-Jazeera TV channel is not an independent free outlet, but rather a fully-financed by the government of Qatar as a platform that supports the interests of some terrorist groups working under the patronage of Qatar like Muslim brotherhood organization. He recalled that Al-Jazeera hosted ben Laden, the former leader of Al-Qaeda terrorist organization, as well as the leader of Al-Nosrah of Syria. He added that a number of its correspondents were convicted in Spain with several of them confirming that Al-Jazeera is practicing some kind of media illusive way. He recalled also that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was suffering from terror operations, citing the occurrence of heinous terror acts targeting eight cities with a toll loss of 240 martyrs and more than 1055 injured in more than 100 terrorist operations. He said terror acts covered even Britain, Germany, France and Belgium. Finally, he said terrorism is now considered an international threat and its defeat should come through the cooperation of everybody, as its finance is one of the major challenges. In this regard, many world governments underscored the importance of Qatar's commitment to seriously combat terrorism and stop financing extremist organizations.
