Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, Adel Al-Jubeir also defended his country’s involvement in the war in Yemen.
Appearing before the foreign affairs committee, he told members he understood the “great concern” they felt about the situation in Yemen but said, “This is not a war we wanted, not one we sought and is not one that we wish to see continued.”
He added, “It is a war that has been imposed on us.”
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He said Saudi Arabia, in intervening in Yemen, had responded to a request for military assistance, adding that a political settlement was the only feasible solution to the ongoing crisis.
The Saudi-led coalition has conducted bombing missions in Yemen since 2015 with arms and military support from the US, UK and other countries. At least 10,000 civilians have been killed in the conflict, though the true death toll is potentially far higher as few organisations on the ground have the resources to count the dead.
He admitted that the Saudis had “lost the communications battle” over Yemen, saying, “we weren’t smart enough and as a result my country has suffered huge reputational damage. We get blamed for everything that happens in Yemen.”
Despite this, he assured MEPs that Saudi Arabia was “doing all it can” to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees displaced by the crisis, adding, “We still hope a political solution can be found.”
On Syria and Iraq, he voiced confidence that the “corner has been turned” in fighting Isis but expressed concern about the continuing crisis in the Gulf and Qatar.
The tiny oil- and gas-rich Gulf state of Qatar has been cut off by some of its powerful Arab neighbours including Saudi Arabia over its alleged support for terrorism.
Qatar refused to comply with an initial list of 13 demands, saying it would not agree to any measures that threatened its sovereignty or violated international law.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed relations with Qatar on 5 June. They also gave Qatari citizens 14 days to leave their territory and banned their own citizens from travelling to or residing in Qatar.
The minister said, “We say ‘No’ to terrorism and we want Qatar to refuse to allow people on its territory to finance terrorism. Its continuing failure to do this is not acceptable. People in the West see Qatar as a modern state but what they do not see is the dark side.”
He also outlined the changes currently taking place in Saudi Arabia and told the committee his country did not seek to “change Islam” but, rather, wanted to “return to the true nature” of the religion.
He pointed out that 4000 imams had been suspended in Saudi Arabia for hate speech and the country had a zero-tolerance approach to Islamic terrorism and radicalisation.
Along with several MEPs, Javier Nart, a Vice-Chair of Parliament’s ALDE group, was highly critical of Saudi Arabia, saying its role in Yemen was “unacceptable.”
“What the Saudis are doing there is being done solely for domestic reasons in Saudi Arabia, but it has left thousands of people in Yemen paying the price,” he said.
Committee Chair David McAllister told the minister his country remained an “important partner” for the EU, including in the fight against terror.
“However,” he added, “we are deeply concerned about the crisis affecting the Gulf Cooperation Council. Saudi Arabia has a crucial role in resolving this.”
The meeting comes after a recent UN report found that all sides in the Yemen conflict have committed violations of international humanitarian law, including Saudi-led air strikes on civilian targets as well as the “indiscriminate use of explosive ordinance” by Houthi forces.
The report lists 10 incidents in which Saudi-led coalition air strikes killed 157 civilians, including at least 85 children. The strikes targeted residential building, factories and civilian vessels, prompting the UN experts to find that Saudi-led forces had failed to adhere to “principles of international law of proportionality and precautions in attack.”
It also describes measures taken to minimise child casualties by Saudi-led forces as “largely ineffective.”