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Qatar has not ruled out military intervention in Syria

October 22, 2015 at 9:18 am

Qatar’s Foreign Minister Khalid Al-Attiyah said his country has not ruled out military intervention in Syria if Saudi Arabia and Turkey proposed it pointing out that his country has no geopolitical interests or agendas in Syria.

“If we follow the Qatari position from day one, we have made all attempts and knocked on all doors to find a peaceful solution in Syria, but when we saw the bloodshed we had to side with the Syrian people,” Al-Attiyah told CNN.

“We will spare no effort to do anything that can help protect the Syrian people and Syria from partition, with our Saudi and Turkish brethren, whatever this may be,” he said.

“If military intervention would protect the Syrian people from the brutality of the Syrian regime, then of course we will do it,” he added.

“The Syrian people have been fighting on two fronts, against the regime and terrorist groups, for two years. There are many ways to support them.”

“We have two options in the region: conflict, which we always try to avoid, and serious dialogue to resolve our problems. We do not fear confrontation, and we call for dialogue from a position of strength, because we believe in peace, and the shortest path to peace is direct dialogue,” he explained.

According to the minister, the UN Security Council does not provide enough protection for the Syrian people therefore Qatar and its allies have played this role directly in Syria.

Al-Attiyah defended the Ahrar Al-Sham Islamist militant group which Qatar and its allies have been supporting, saying: “They are not allies of Al-Qaeda. They are a Syrian group fighting to liberate their country. We do not consider them extremists and terrorists. They are part of the moderate opposition.”