Qatar strongly calls for keeping the Gulf region completely nuclear-free

Qatar, closely following developments of the recent Iranian Nuclear Deal (JCPOA), has called to keep the GCC region nuclear-free, reported Gulf Times.

The JCPOA, signed in 2015 between Iran and the (P 5+1) countries and adopted by the UN Security Council, was recently in the news after US President Donald Trump decided to pull back from it.

In a statement, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the country, like the rest of the GCC states, was not party to the agreement, but given its geographical location and its political and historical relations with the parties of the agreement, would be directly affected by any repercussions of the decisions taken by these parties, according to The Peninsula.

In this context, Qatar stressed that the main priority is for the Middle East to be a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone and to stop the arms race by regional powers. 

The country stressed the need for collective action by the international community to ensure the prevention of a possible nuclear arms race, where parties end up losing trust in one another, according to Qatar Tribune.

The process of the denuclearisation of the region primarily aims at laying the foundations of peace and stability in a manner that contributes to the preservation of human lives as well as pushing forward the process of development to achieve prosperity for all the peoples of the region. 

Thus, all actors should take into account that the price of their efforts to denuclearise the Middle East shall not be another escalation that the peoples of the region cannot cope with.

Qatar said it valued the efforts of all international and regional actors and the parties to the agreement who seek to defuse any possible escalation and find solutions to denuclearize the region.

It is in the best interest of all parties to exercise self-restraint, deal wisely with the situation and try to resolve existing differences through dialogue.