Qatar PM Renews Call For Arab Military Intervention In Syria

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani on Saturday repeated a call to fellow Gulf States for joint military intervention in Syria, insisting that diplomatic efforts should not be given more than one month to succeed, following 21 months of deadly unrest, which have claimed the lives of over 60,000 Syrians.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani on Saturday repeated a call to fellow Gulf States for joint military intervention in Syria, insisting that diplomatic efforts should not be given more than one month to succeed, following 21 months of deadly unrest, which have claimed the lives of over 60,000 Syrians.

Sheikh Hamad, who also holds the role of Foreign Minister in Qatar, said that although Qatar supported peace negotiations led by UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi in Syria, the suffering of millions of Syria meant that any unrest could not be dragged on any longer.

“I think that there is not much time left for diplomacy now,” said the Qatari Prime Minister in a televised interview with the Al Jazeera network.

[quote]“Diplomacy may continue for two or three or four weeks, but no more because the situation is tragic in Syria and we cannot justify that we are still talking about solutions and we support talk about political solutions,” he said.[/quote]

“Arabs must think seriously about sending forces to ensure security in Syria if diplomatic efforts fail to resolve the crisis,” Sheikh Hamad further remarked, adding, “it is not a question of intervention in Syria in favour of one party against the other, but rather a force to preserve security.”

The Qatari Prime Minister’s comments mirrored those of Emir Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani’s in September, when he suggested in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly that Arab states might send a military force to Syria.

Related: The Power of Qatar’s Money: How A Tiny Nation Can Wield Large Influence In The Middle East

Related: Syria To Seek $60 Billion In Financial Aid For First Six Months Post-Assad

But several international parties, including Russia, the E.U. and the U.S., have backed a diplomatic solution, while Qatar’s own intentions have been called into question, given its ties to the mainly Sunni Muslim Syrian rebels.

On Sunday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov – a supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad – called on Syria’s rebels to come out with a counterproposal that could get serious peace talks started between the two sides for the first time.

Lavrov also insisted that removing Assad from power would be “impossible to implement”, especially since it was not part of past international agreements.

“This (removing Assad) is a precondition that is not contained in the Geneva communique (agreed by world powers in June) and which is impossible to implement because it does not depend on anyone,” said Lavrov, as cited by AFP.

[quote]“President Assad has forwarded initiatives aimed at inviting all in the opposition to dialogue. Yes, this initiative probably does not go far enough… But these are offers. And if I were in the opposition’s place, I would present my counter-ideas about establishing dialogue,” the Russian Foreign Minister added.[/quote]

Related: Russia Printing & Supplying Currency To Assad’s Regime: Report

Related: Russia Admits To Selling Syria $1 Billion in Weapons Last Year

Related: China Hesitant to Intervene in Syria: Kofi Annan

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad on the other hand, felt that Assad’s removal was necessary; urging foreign diplomats to understand the Syrian political situation on the ground.

[quote]“A political solution must be understood. There has to be a government with full powers and this means that Al Assad has to step down. Some diplomats may not wish to indicate this matter, but this is what should happen,” Sheikh Hamad said.[/quote]