He reiterated Qatar's openness to dialogue ... Al-Attiyah: The old concept of a small country is no longer on the table

Mohammed Al-Shayazami-Doha

The Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah renewed the call for the blockade countries of Qatar for dialogue and negotiation without conditions to end the crisis, talking about changing the concept of the "small state" strategically.

Al-Attiyah stressed at a symposium at Georgetown University in Doha yesterday evening, entitled "Security of Small Countries ... Qatar and Lessons Learned After a Thousand Days of Siege", that any positive step by the countries of the siege will be met by two steps, but we will not give in to intimidation or any conditions.

He explained that what Qatar experienced was difficult for any country to live like it, and instead of calling it a thousand days of siege, we must call it a thousand days of victory, and stated that what affected us was not the siege as much as the pain of treachery that we did not get used to and not in our DNA, and that what The blockade states have caused it to split the Gulf's social fabric, which generations will need to overcome.

Al-Attiyah said that the countries of the blockade today do not have the intention to dialogue, nor do they want Qatar to leave the Cooperation Council not because of love in the Council, but because Qatar guarantees them protection from international legal and legal prosecutions of what they committed against Qatar, and its survival within it is an excuse for them that all differences can be resolved Inside the council, not outside.

"They want to besiege us for 50 years, as Cuba is besieged," and the blockading countries have fears that Qatar will turn to Hong Kong or Singapore, and it is moving forward with development and innovation.

The beginnings of the siege
Al-Attiyah pointed to the first moments of the start of the siege on Qatar, and said that its purpose was to bring to Qatar through a hybrid and brutal multi-faceted war, which started cyber and social, and mobilized all its tools and means, but the leadership of Qatar faced that with its wisdom, and through a "golden triangle" that also includes The allies and friends who rejected what we were faced with faced an "evil triangle" that wanted to break Qatar from within, without losing sight of the internal cohesion and the role of citizens and residents in facing that aggression, and all this enabled us to bypass the siege.

The Gulf crisis erupted after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt cut off on June 5, 2017 its relations with Qatar, in addition to imposing a land and air blockade, after a campaign of slander and lies, which Doha said was aimed at undermining its sovereignty and independence.

Al-Attiyah pointed out that 72 hours was sufficient to adapt to the challenge imposed by the blockade, as friends from all over the world sent goods and met all the needs that the Hamad Port was busy with, and today the Qatari people are alive and its government has made giant leaps towards the future, and has achieved their sufficiency of all products. Qatar will continue to achieve its national vision 2030.

He said that within a few months to come, an important strategic project will be announced in Qatar, noting that the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, gave his directions in this regard.

Security of small states
Al-Attiyah talked about small countries and ways to define them from the geographical borders, population and military power, and considered that in light of contemporary policies these standards are no longer critical to the classification of countries, as there are soft power and deterrence power, which play an important role in redefining the countries are small or large, Besides economic and social workers, it can therefore be said that the old understanding associated with small states is no longer present.

And he expressed his belief in the necessity of enhancing the soft and deterrent power that is not only limited to the media, but also in the comprehensive economic and social plans, and the consequent education of the people and raising awareness for him to fortify and enhance his immunity, and to create enlightened visions capable of facing challenges.

He said that what happened to Qatar did not affect her alone, but touched the whole world, but she was keen, despite the conditions of the blockade, to reassure the world and meet its needs of natural gas, which represents 30% of global production, and this is not only for allies and friends, but even the countries of aggression we have shown them Our commitment to continue providing them with energy, and driving directions in Qatar have been decisive, as long as hospitals are powered by gas, then people cannot be harmed in this case, and we have overcome human logic.

Al-Attiyah said that the mistake made by the blockading countries when the United States called for the American Islamic Summit in Riyadh was that it had forgotten that America is an institutionalized state, and that it is an ally country and our relations with friends there are excellent, whether in the Foreign Ministry, Congress or in the White House, and thus aborted their plans to bring Qatar and make Their 13 conditions are not successful.

He pointed out that Qatar does not follow the policy of the axes, but rather managed to create a platform for dialogue for parties that do not belong to the axes, thus enhancing its openness to the outside world and its role as a reliable mediator, and one example of this is the close signing of a peace agreement between America and the Taliban, despite what some have made The parties in order to thwart efforts to achieve peace because Qatar adopts these efforts and composes between the parties, and this is one of the means of soft power that Qatar has.