Qatar’s allegations refuted

Beijing : Ambassadors of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and the Chargé d’Affaires of the UAE and Egypt to China held a meeting with the Director-General of the Department of West Asian and North African Affairs at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Deng Li.

The meeting focused on the discussions and results of the June 23 meeting, as well as on the latest developments regarding the complaint filed by the Government of Qatar at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) against the four countries calling for combating terrorism asking them to stop closing their airspace to flights of Qatari air companies or those registered in it.

The importance of the meeting stems from the fact that China is the current President and Executive Council member of ICAO which will look into the Qatari allegations and the four countries’ replies to them during its next meeting, set to be held later this month.

The envoys highlighted their countries’ stances regarding Qatar’s complaint, stressing that the airspace closure applies to Qatari companies and those registered in it, and does not cover other companies.

They stressed that the procedures are in line with the sovereign rights of states emanating from international law and are in conformity with the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention 1944).

Earlier, the four countries provided ICAO with accurate maps and data illustrating the air traffic of Qatari aircraft on international routes and airspace in other countries to refute Qatar’s claims.

They also affirmed that the international water airspace remains open and that the flight information region (FIR) in each state is committed to providing service and support to all airlines Including Qatari companies, which, they said, reflects their full commitment to their responsibilities towards ICAO.

This, they stressed, proves the non-eligibility of the Government of Qatar to resort to Article “84” concerning the settlement of civil aviation disputes.

The Chinese side took note of the visions of the four countries’ envoys, and expressed hope that the entire International Community would rally together to combat terrorism and ensure commitment to non-interference in countries’ domestic affairs, as well as to settling the current dispute within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and supporting the State of Kuwait’s mediation efforts by tangible procedures.

China also expressed its readiness to make any efforts or good endeavours to address the existing dispute whenever it is requested to do so.