U.S., Qatar sign agreement on combating terrorism financing

[webfact]

U.S., Qatar sign agreement on combating terrorism financing

By Tom Finn

 

Qatar's foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani (R) shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson following a joint news conference in Doha, Qatar, July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon

 

DOHA (Reuters) - The United States and Qatar signed an agreement on Tuesday aimed at combating the financing of terrorism, as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Doha to try to end a month-long rift between Western-allied Arab states.

 

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt imposed sanctions on Qatar last month, accusing it of financing extremist groups and allying with the Gulf Arab states' arch-foe Iran, allegations Doha denies.

 

Tillerson said the agreement signed with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, had been under discussion for weeks.

 

"The agreement which we both have signed on behalf of our governments represents weeks of intensive discussions between experts and reinvigorates the spirit of the Riyadh summit," Tillerson said at a joint news conference with Sheikh Mohammed.

 

U.S. President Donald Trump met representatives of Arab states during a visit to Saudi Arabia in May.

 

"The memorandum lays out a series of steps that each country will take in coming months and years to interrupt and disable terror financing flows and intensify counter terrorism activities globally," Tillerson added.

 

The four Arab states boycotting Qatar said later on Tuesday that sanctions would remain in place until it met their demands and that they would keep a close eye on the tiny Gulf monarchy's efforts to fight terrorism funding.

 

In a joint statement released in their state media, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain said they appreciated U.S. efforts in fighting terrorism but that they would closely monitor Qatar's behaviour.

 

Sheikh Mohammed said the agreement was not linked to the crisis with the four Arab countries, which the United States fears could impact its military and counter-terrorism operations and increase Iran's influence in the region.

 

Tehran has sent food supplies to Qatar and allows the country's carrier to fly through its airspace.

 

Qatar denies it supports militant organisations and says the boycott is part of a campaign to rein in its independent foreign policy.

"Today, the state of Qatar was the first to sign the executive programme with the United States to fight terrorism financing," Sheikh Mohammed told the news conference.

 

Tillerson said the agreement includes milestones to ensure both countries are accountable through their commitments.

 

"Together the United States and Qatar will do more to track down funding sources, will do more to collaborate and share information and will do more to keep the region ... safe," Tillerson said.

 

Egypt later said at a meeting of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State in Washington that the coalition should not include member states that supported terrorism, like Qatar.

 

A U.S. official who had knowledge of the deliberations at the meeting later said "the other working group countries dismissed the Egyptian demand".

 

"Terrorism is a global problem that requires a global response - and we all have work to do,” the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

 

DIPLOMACY

 

Accompanied by Kuwaiti mediators, Tillerson flew to Doha on Tuesday for talks with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, over the crisis. He said he was due to travel to Saudi Arabia for talks with officials from the four Arab countries.

 

On Monday, he and British National Security Advisor Mark Sedwill met with officials from Kuwait in order to patch up the row among the Western-allied countries.

 

Following those discussions, the United States, Britain and Kuwait urged all parties to resolve their dispute quickly through dialogue, Kuwait state news agency KUNA reported.

 

Kuwait's ruler, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, expressed "bitterness" on Tuesday over what he described as an unprecedented rift in the Gulf, but said he intended to push ahead with mediation efforts.

 

Foreign ministers from the four Arab states leading the boycott of Qatar will meet with Tillerson in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah on Wednesday.

 

Coming from some of the most influential powers in the dispute, the plea for a negotiated solution may be aimed at an earlier refusal by Qatar's adversaries to discuss renewing ties with Doha until it first acquiesced to a list of demands. They include closing the Al Jazeera TV channel, shutting a Turkish military base in Qatar and downgrading ties with Iran.

 

Qatar hosts Udeid Air Base, the largest U.S. military facility in the Middle East, from which U.S.-led coalition aircraft stage sorties against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

 

U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed support for Saudi Arabia in the dispute.

 

(Writing by Noah Browning and Sami Aboudi; Additional reporting by Yara Bayoumy in Washington, and Ahmed Abouelenein and Mostafa Hashem in Cairo; Editing by Catherine Evans and James Dalgleish)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-07-12

[darksidedog]

The Arab states boycotting Qatar should now climb down from their dubious high horse and work with Qatar for the common purpose of stamping out terrorism.  Any further demands to close Al Jazeera, who are way more believable than any other Arab station, will confirm Qatars assertion that it is their foreign and domestic policy at stake. None of the four accusers have entirely clean hands, so joining the initiative, and thus working with each other, including Qatar would be a good next step.

[Morch]

7 hours ago, darksidedog said:

The Arab states boycotting Qatar should now climb down from their dubious high horse and work with Qatar for the common purpose of stamping out terrorism.  Any further demands to close Al Jazeera, who are way more believable than any other Arab station, will confirm Qatars assertion that it is their foreign and domestic policy at stake. None of the four accusers have entirely clean hands, so joining the initiative, and thus working with each other, including Qatar would be a good next step.

 

This was never really about supporting "terrorism". At least not in the meaning marketed in the West. For many of these countries, terrorism includes anything which constitutes a threat on the regime. There is no "common purpose", exactly. Each country, or faction, is aligned with the anti-terrorism thing in order to carry favor with the US while advancing separate agendas. Sometimes interests coincide, other times they don't.

 

The Al Jazeera thing is also a PR campaign. Most of the grievances Qatar opponents have with Al Jazeera relate to the Arabic edition, which is seen, and rightly so, as furthering Qatari regional interests while harming those of relevant countries. In past instances of the same issue, Qatar already agreed to exercise some control over this - but actions did not live up to agreements.

 

Not that I support the Saudi & Co. point of view, just putting it in context. It's not as if Qatar wasn't meddling in countries internal affairs to promote it's regional aspirations. So going on about interfering with Qatari policies is a bit contrived.

[coulson]

I wonder has Saudi Arabia signed a similar agreement?

[simple1]

17 minutes ago, coulson said:

I wonder has Saudi Arabia signed a similar agreement?

US holds opinions regards activities of some individuals in KSA, but...

 

Sep 18, 2015, 16:17 ET from Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Information Office

 

Combating Terror Financing: Terror networks thrive on illicit funding, often hiding behind charitable organizations. To combat this threat, Saudi Arabia has put in place one of the world's strictest financial control systems to prevent funds going to support terrorism.

• All Saudi financial institutions have implemented the 40 recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) of the G-8 regarding money laundering and the eight recommendations regarding terror financing. In August 2015, Saudi Arabia joint the FATF as an Observer Member.
• Saudi charities are prohibited from transferring money abroad. The collection of cash contributions in mosques and public places is prohibited.
• The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency offers programs and has implemented a technical program to train judges and investigators on legal matters involving terrorism financing and money laundering methods, international requirements for financial secrecy, and methods exercised by criminals to exchange information.
• Saudi Arabia works closely with the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Australia and other allies to combat terror financing on a global scale.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kingdom-of-saudi-arabia--fact-sheet-initiatives-and-efforts-to-combat-terrorism-and-terror-financing-300145765.html

 

IMO the item "The collection of cash contributions in mosques and public places is prohibited" is important, but is their any meaningful enforcement.

Edited July 12, 2017 by simple1

[Morch]

10 minutes ago, coulson said:

I wonder has Saudi Arabia signed a similar agreement?

 

I dunno anyone is putting a whole lot of faith in agreements signed being meaningful. That's not a a jibe at either side of this conflict, just a general observation. Signing a piece of paper saying this or that, while going on doing whatever is kinda normal. Unless there are explicit, clearly defined terms, no chance any of it will carry much weight. More to do with posturing and diplomatic games.

[Srikcir]

22 hours ago, Morch said:

More to do with posturing and diplomatic games.

The end result is that Tillerson was able to repair the damage done by Trump to US relations with Muslim allies in the Middle East. But we know how long that will last is only until Trump's next tweet.

[Morch]

10 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

The end result is that Tillerson was able to repair the damage done by Trump to US relations with Muslim allies in the Middle East. But we know how long that will last is only until Trump's next tweet.

I don't think he managed that yet. Probably a few more rounds of talks. I think Trump's next ME blunder will be elsewhere, Syria, Iraq or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. All present ample opportunities for his clueless tweeting.