Qatar Welcomes Saudi Statement On Ties With Egypt

Qatar on Saturday welcomed a Saudi statement earlier in the day on cementing ties between Doha and Cairo.



"Qatar stands by its sister country, Egypt, as it always did" the Gulf state said in a statement.  



It said its own security was inseparable from Egypt's security, describing ties between Doha and Cairo as both "deep" and "strong."



"The state of Qatar welcomes the initiative of King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz for bolstering ties with Egypt," Qatar said.



Earlier on Saturday, Saudi Arabia said both Egypt and Qatar had accepted an initiative of King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz to bridge gaps between them.



It added in a statement that it also blessed ongoing efforts for bringing Egypt and Qatar closer together, noting that these efforts had included a meeting in Cairo on Saturday between Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and a special envoy of the Emir of Qatar.



This was the first meeting to take place between al-Sisi and a Qatari official since the Egyptian President took over in his country in June of this year.



Relations between Cairo and Doha deteriorated markedly since July of last year, when Mohamed Morsi – Egypt's first elected president – was ousted by the army following mass opposition protests.



Egypt had accused Doha of interfering in its affairs by supporting the Muslim Brotherhood – the group from which Morsi hails – and by hosting a number of wanted Brotherhood figures following Morsi's ouster.



In a September interview with CNN held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad described Morsi's ouster as a "military coup."



Cairo has been especially irked by Qatar's view of political developments in Egypt, and what it describes as biased news coverage by Qatar's Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr channel, which is devoted to covering Egypt news.



A recent inter-Gulf initiative, however, has sought to break the ice between Cairo and Doha.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Doha