Qatar accuses GCC nations of leaking 'Riyadh Agreement'

Doha [Qatar], July 12 (ANI): Qatar has accused nations in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) of leaking documents to the media about the Riyadh Agreement of 2013-2014. According to the Anadolu agency, speaking to Qatar's official news agency QNA, Ahmad Al-Thani, who heads Qatar's government Liaison Office, made the accusation without naming which countries. This comes after CNN on Monday published a set of documents known as the "Riyadh Agreement," which triggered the ongoing crisis as the Gulf countries have accused Qatar of not complying with the two agreements. According to the CNN report, Qatar made a series of secret agreements with its Gulf neighbours in 2013 and 2014 barring support for opposition and hostile groups in those nations, as well as in Egypt and Yemen. Al-Thani said that the leak "aims to fail mediation attempts of Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to the crisis between Qatar and some Arab countries." In the first agreement, the countries also vowed to not support "antagonistic media," an apparent reference to Al Jazeera - the satellite news station based in Qatar - which other Gulf states accuse of trumpeting opposition groups in the region including Egypt and Bahrain. The second agreement meanwhile specifically mentions the signatories' commitment to support Egypt's stability, including preventing Al Jazeera from being used as a platform for groups or figures challenging the Egyptian government. The agreements do not single out Qatar, as the provisions included apply to all countries, which signed it which include signed between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. He said Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain know the Riyadh Agreement is a clear deal and provides that any country could complain about another country or take a negative attitude. However, these three countries did not make any complaint or request a meeting to the GCC before imposing sanctions on Qatar. Instead, they chose black propaganda against Qatar that showed clearly that their purpose was not whether the Riyadh Agreement was being implemented, Al-Thani added. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain accused Qatar of violating the agreements in a statement Tuesday. Last month, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE and Bahrain cut diplomatic relations with Qatar after accusing it of supporting terrorism. The four countries presented a list of 13 demands to Qatar that included the closure of the Al Jazeera television network or face further sanctions. (ANI)