MANAMA // After months of deadlock on Syria at the United Nations Security Council, Qatar is urging countries opposed to Syria's regime to take their case to the UN General Assembly, where it would likely win support for a broader international intervention.
Russia and China have stymied attempts by the US and its western and Arab allies to increase global pressure on Syria's president, Bashar Al Assad, vetoing three resolutions at the Security Council aimed at pressuring the government to stop the violence.
"I think we will be thinking seriously of doing it through the United Nations General Assembly, to take such a resolution, in order to protect the Syrian people from the blocking resolutions on the Security Council," Qatar's minister of state for foreign affairs, Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah, told a regional security conference in Manama, Bahrain, on Saturday.
A resolution at the General Assembly would likely win backing from a majority of member states, providing moral - although not legal - authority to help to end the civil war, which activists say has killed at least 40,000 people since March last year.
Mr Al Attiyah also urged the international community to involve all elements of the armed opposition in Syria, including those deemed by western intelligence to have links to extremists groups such as Al Qaeda.
"I am very much against excluding anyone at this stage, or bracketing them as terrorists, or bracketing them as Al Qaeda," he said. "What we are doing is only creating a sleeping monster ... We should bring them all together, we should treat them all equally, and we should work on them to change their ideology."
His comments add to growing debate, particularly in the West, over assisting the Syrian armed opposition. That debate is particularly acute in the US, where concerns over Islamist extremist groups have so far confounded calls to provide more assistance.
But a growing number of members of the US Congress have called for a more aggressive stance - including lethal aid - despite the risks, arguing that an aggressive intelligence effort could target the assistance towards more moderate opposition elements.
"I believe that in Syria everything that those in our country and Congress have used to argue against involvement, those things that they said would happen, have happened because they didn't intervene," US senator John McCain told conference delegates on Saturday, noting that the opposition had grown more extreme in the absence of a unified and funded secular military command.
The position of the US and Qatar contradict Saudi Arabia's more conservative stance towards assisting extremist groups in Syria's opposition.
Saudi's deputy minister of foreign affairs, Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Saud, responded to questions from delegates on Saturday about weapons falling into the hands of extremists in Syria.
"This is our major concern, that this is what will happen in Syria ... I would say that we should look really where weapons are going to and who's going to use them," he said.
For months, Qatar has called for a more aggressive stance towards the provision of arms - a call reiterated at the conference this weekend. Mr Al Attiyah went further, saying the opposition should be given the means to control their airspace.
"I think the people of Syria do not want us to provide them with a no-fly zone. They want us to provide them with the means for them to impose their own no-fly zone," he said. "The lack of means is what is holding them back."
Since the summer, Qatar has been reported to be assisting in arming the opposition, but Mr Al Attiyah said that his country had deferred to international concerns, providing only humanitarian aid.
"If you think that food, medicine and clothes are means of defence, then yes, we have supplied the opposition. We limited ourselves," he said. "The only thing we have been able to do until now is supply humanitarian aid."
edickinson@thenational.ae
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
The years Ramadan fell in May
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
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“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
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Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
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Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
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WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
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THREE
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Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
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76 nations
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What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
UAE Premiership
Results
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Final
Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, Friday, March 29, 5pm at The Sevens, Dubai
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What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
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Defined Benefit Plan (DB)
A defined benefit plan is where the benefit is defined by a formula, typically length of service to and salary at date of leaving.
Defined Contribution Plan (DC)
A defined contribution plan is where the benefit depends on the amount of money put into the plan for an employee, and how much investment return is earned on those contributions.
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