The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar expressed its deep regret at the decision of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Bahrain to close their borders and airspace and cut off diplomatic relations over baseless allegations.

‘These measures are unjustified and are based on claims and allegations that have no basis in fact. The State of Qatar has been target of a systematic incitement campaign that promoted outright lies, which indicates that there was a prior intent to harm the State’, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs issuing a statement in Colombo said.

It said Qatar was an active member of the GCC and ‘adheres to its charter, respects the sovereignty of other countries, does not interfere in its internal affairs, and carries out its duties in the fight against terrorism and extremism,’ adding that it was clear that the media campaign against Qatar has failed to convince public opinion in the region and in the Gulf countries in particular, which explains the continued escalation.

‘The fabrication of reasons for taking action against a sister country in the GCC is clear evidence that there is no legitimate justification for these measures, which were taken in coordination with Egypt, and the goal is clear: enforcing guardianship over the State, which is completely unacceptable. This is in itself a violation of its sovereignty as a State,’ the statement read.

It pointed out that the allegations contained in the statements of severing the relations issued by the three countries represent an undisclosed attempt to confirm the advance planning of media campaigns, which included many fabrications.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that these measures taken against the State of Qatar will not affect the normal course of life of the citizens and residents of the State and that the Qatari Government will take all necessary measures to ensure this and to thwart attempts to influence and harm the Qatari society and economy.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry also said, at this critical stage, these three countries have not found a more important and crucial challenge for their people than exposing the State of Qatar and trying to harm it.