Bahrain Mirror: An official source at Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed Qatar's surprise at the statements made by the GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif Al-Zayani on the current diplomatic crisis between Saudi Arabia and Canada.

The official source affirmed that those statements do not express the opinion of the State of Qatar, adding that Qatar and Canada are linked by decades-long strong relations.

He stressed the need to protect the right of States and international organizations to express their views, particularly when it comes to violations of human rights and freedom of expression.

Saudi Arabia froze trade and investment with Canada, gave the Canadian ambassador 24 hours to leave the country and recalled its ambassador in Ottawa, in a response to criticism made by Canada on the arrest of activists in Saudi Arabia.

Al-Zayani expressed his support to the actions taken by Saudi Arabia against Canada and affirmed his condemnation to the Canadian criticism, describing them as an unacceptable interference in Saudi Arabia's internal affairs.

Arabic Version