PM: Jordan, Qatar keen to cement ties

Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour hailed the ties between Jordan and Qatar and said the two countries have "much to unite than divide them," praising the Gulf Arab state's regional diplomacy as "effective and robust." In an interview with the Qatari Al Watan newspaper published today, Ensour said that His Majesty King Abdullah II and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Khalifa Al Thani were keen to maintain "smooth and effective" relations between the two countries in all fields. He said the new Qatari Emir is "a proficient and qualified" head of state, who has leadership skills, and also lauded his father Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, who, he said, had made "a quantum leap" in Qatar and transferred the leadership to Sheikh Tamim while he still had "the proficiency, ability and wisdom, something which is praiseworthy." In the interview, conducted by the newspaper's editor-in-chief Mohammad Al Mirri, Ensour urged the Arab countries to coordinate among themselves vis-à-vis major issues in the region, adding that "the current situation is extremely difficult and there is no room for discord or polarization." Asked about the prospect of a military strike against Syria, the prime minister said, "We call for a negotiated political solution that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people. This is our policy line. But regarding a military strike, we cannot assess it but only after we learn about its scope, size and objectives". Ensour said the United Nations was investigating the use of chemical weapons in Syria and the results would unveil whether the banned weapons had been used or not, and who used them. "After it is proved who used them, the United nations and the International Criminal Court will have the mandate to examine the affair," he said, adding that international law bans chemical weapons and that if these had been launched indiscriminately against a people, the perpetrator should be held to account. Asked about an avenue out of the Syrian crisis, Ensour said the United Nations is the forum that humanity turns to for resolving disputes. But, he said, the world body had been helpless, stressing that a solution lies within Syria, not outside, and through negotiation. He said that no party could negate the other or pretend it did not exist. Ensour said Jordan is currently home to 1,250,000 Syrians, including 550,000 refugees, 130,000 of whom live in Zaatari, the second largest refugee camp in the world. Such a huge number of refugees, he said, have put additional pressures on the labour market, services, hospitals, roads and especially, water. "We are a poor country with hundreds of thousands of poor people, but our doors are open and we still share with them the loaf of bread," he said, adding that foreign aid has now stopped. Commenting on the political situation in Egypt, Ensour said standing by the side of the Egyptian state, and not to destabilize it, is a strategic goal "that should be upheld, and that the steadfastness of the Egyptian state is in the interest of us