Egypt insists that Qatar should not be member of anti-IS bloc

Egyptian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid urged the coalition members to take the issue into serious consideration, as some countries "wear two masks".

Cairo, July 12: In a scathing attack on Qatar, Egypt on Tuesday said that the US-led anti-Islamic State coalition should not include member states that support terrorism.

"It is unacceptable for the coalition to have amongst its members states that support terrorism or advocate for it in their media," said Egyptian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid in a statement, Xinhua reported.

Zeid is heading the Egyptian delegation to the anti-IS coalition meeting held in Washington on Tuesday.

He added that the victory over the IS on the battlefield should be expanded to uproot all terrorist and extremist organisations and those that support them.

"Based on that principal, the decision by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain to boycott Qatar, was made in light of the latter's support of terrorism in the region, especially in Libya, Syria and Yemen," he said in the statement.

He further urged the coalition members to take the issue into serious consideration, as some countries "wear two masks": one in front of the international community as a partner in combating terrorism, while the other reflected suspicious relations with terrorism.

"The coalition should be open only to those countries with similar thoughts in dealing with terrorism," Zeid underlined.

The Foreign Ministry statement came one day before the meeting among the U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and foreign ministers of the Arab countries boycotting Qatar in Saudi Arabia.

Tillerson arrived in Qatar on Tuesday to try to find a way out of the crisis, which began more than a month ago, when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut off diplomatic relations with Doha and imposed a land, naval and air blockade about the country.

IANS