Mideast situation/Jerusalem – Statement of US Sec. of State – Letter from Qatar

Letter dated 9 March 2001 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i.

of the Permanent Mission of Qatar to the United Nations

addressed to the Secretary-General

I have the honour to transmit to you herewith a statement (see annex) by an official source of the Foreign Ministry of the State of Qatar on Friday, 9 March 2001, concerning the statement of the United States Secretary of State, Mr. Colin Powell, before the United States Congress on Jerusalem and the transfer of the American Embassy to that city.

I should be grateful if you would have the present letter and its annex circulated as a document of the Security Council and of the General Assembly under agenda item 40 “The situation in the Middle East”.

(Signed) Adel Al-Khal

Chargé d’affaires a.i.

Annex to the letter dated 9 March 2001 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i.

of the Permanent Mission of Qatar to the United Nations

addressed to the Secretary-General

[Original: Arabic]

An official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar has stated that Qatar, which occupies the presidency of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, followed with deep concern the statements which the United States Secretary of State, Mr. Colin Powell, made before the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives on the subject of Jerusalem and the transfer of the United States Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Qatar rejects statements of this type and the decisions which the United States Congress has taken with a view to recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and transferring the United States Embassy to that city, since they violate Security Council resolution 478 (1980) and run counter to the efforts to establish a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the region, especially as the United States is one of the principal sponsors of the Middle East peace process.

The State of Qatar, which occupies the presidency of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, feels certain that the United States Government, in its wisdom, will be able to settle this matter, which is a particularly sensitive one for both Muslims and Christians throughout the world.