ISTANBUL (AA) – Qatar has reopened its embassy in Syria following the downfall of the Bashar al-Assad regime. In a statement, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said Khalifa Abdullah al-Mahmoud al-Sharif was named as the country’s charge d’affaires. The ministry said the resumption of the embassy’s operations in Damascus “comes nearly 13 ...
RIYADH/ISTANBUL (AA) – Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have condemned a decision by Israel to expand settlement building in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. The UAE warned that the move will lead to increased tensions and an escalation in the region. In a statement issued by its Foreign Ministry, the decision [&h...
JERUSALEM (AA) – Director of Israel’s Mossad spy agency David Barnea held talks with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha to discuss a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap deal, Israeli media reported. Israeli news portal Walla said Barnea’s visit to Qatar was part of efforts to reach a deal with […]...
WASHINGTON (AA) – Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the situation in Syria with his counterparts from Jordan, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Egypt, the State Department said Tuesday. Blinken spoke with Ayman Safadi from Jordan, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani from Qatar and Badr...
CAIRO (AA) – Qatar has recommitted to mediating the Gaza cease-fire negotiations, said Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani during the opening of the 22nd Doha Forum. Qatar had suspended its mediation efforts nearly a month ago, citing a lack of “seriousness” from the parties involved in the negotiations. S...
GENEVA (AA) — Qatar’s prime minister said Wednesday that US President-elect Donald Trump wants a cease-fire in Gaza before his inauguration on Jan. 20. In an interview with Sky News, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani confirmed that Trump had clearly stated his intention to see Israel’s war on Gaza resolved before his swe...
WASHINGTON (AA) – The White House said Monday that it is in “active conversations” with Türkiye, Qatar and Egypt to broker a cease-fire to end Israel’s war on the besieged Gaza Strip. “Without doubt, 100% of our energy and effort is being put to try to get this, and really the main stumbling block continues [&hell...
ISTANBUL (AA) – Qatar has denied media reports claiming it has withdrawn from mediation efforts to achieve a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, saying the efforts are stalled temporarily. In a statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed bin Mohammed Al-Ansari said “the media reports about the State of Qatar’s withdrawal from mediation r...
ANKARA (AA) – Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Qatar have condemned Saturday’s Israeli airstrikes on Iranian territory. In a statement, Oman’s Foreign Ministry expressed “strong condemnation and denunciation” of the strikes, calling them a “blatant violation of (Iran’s) sovereignty” and “a clear breach of interna...
ISTANBUL (AA) – Qatar and Indonesia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to offer scholarships for Afghan students to study in Indonesia. The agreement was signed virtually by Qatar’s Minister of State for International Cooperation Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi via video conference,...