Qatari Emir called Morsi's ouster a coup

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin-Hamad Al-Thani described on Thursday the deposition of the elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi a “coup.”

Speaking with the CNN‘s Christiane Amanpour, he stressed that claims Qatar supports the Muslim Brotherhood are false. He stated that Qatar backed every Egyptian government since Hosni Mubarak stepped down.

He said that Muslim Brotherhood members in his country are not practicing politics. They travelled to Qatar as they were afraid.

“Many of them left and some of them came to Qatar because they were traveling and they were afraid. Some of them are still there,” he said. “They know the rules of the country – that as long as you are here, you cannot practice politics against any other Arab country.”

Regarding Qatari relations with Hamas, Amanpour asked whether Qatar would continue its support of Hamas.

The Emir said: “We support all Palestinian people. We believe Hamas is a very important part of the Palestinian people.”

He continued: “What is the difference between Hamas ten years ago and Hamas now? I believe the difference is that Hamas are more realistic now. They believe in peace and they want peace. But it’s for the other party to believe in peace as well and to be more realistic.”