No change in Qatar stance

HRH the Premier’s phone call to Qatari Amir was for exchanging Ramadan wishes and it doesn’t signal any change in Bahrain’s political stance, confirmed HRH the Premier’s Court yesterday.

“The phone call which was held between His Royal Highness the Premier and the Amir of Qatar was restricted to exchanging congratulations on the advent of the Holy Month of Ramadan,” said a statement published by Bahrain News Agency (BNA). The call by the Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa to Qatari Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to exchange wishes on the first day of the Holy Month is a common tradition among GCC countries.

The rare exchange amid a two-year embargo “does not affect Bahrain’s commitment alongside Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to the implementation of the 2013 and 2014 agreements to which Doha had committed itself and the subsequent fair demands,” clarified the Minister of Cabinet Affairs Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Mutawa in a separate statement.

“There is no iota of truth to the claims posted by social media and their allegations about the statement are not in any way related to the reality on the ground,” Al-Mutawa said adding: “Social media interpretation of his statement on BNA was incompatible with the facts.” The minister also affirmed that ‘the phone call between His Royal Highness the Prime Minister and the Amir of Qatar does not represent the official position of the Kingdom of Bahrain.”