Foreign Minister: 'Turkish-Russian Ties Capable to Reach a Diplomatic Solution for the Crisis'

Doha, November 29 (QNA) - HE the Foreign Minister, Dr. Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah, on Sunday stressed that Turkey and Russia will reach a way for a political and diplomatic solution after a Russian jet was downed when it penetrated Turkish airspace. During a joint press conference with the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Paolo Gentiloni, held here today, HE Al Attiyah said the Turkish-Russian relations would make the two countries overcome this crisis, expressing confidence that the two leaderships in Turkey and Russia will reach a political and diplomatic solution soon, referring to their excellent and improved bilateral ties. HE Al Attiyah confirmed depth of Qatar's relations with Italy, describing them as "ancient and diverse." The Minister said that he discussed with his Italian counterpart all matters relating to bilateral relations between the two countries, especially at the economic, cultural and political levels. Qatar and Italy share the same views about the Syrian crisis and the necessity of a political solution in accordance with the principles of Geneva, HE Al Attiyah said, adding that today's talks were in-depth about terrorism and means of dealing with and combatting it. Dr. Al Attiyah said the Syrian people have priorities, at the forefront of them is the departure of Bashar al-Assad and solving the problem of terrorism, pointing to the importance of taking into account these priorities during the debate on a political solution in Syria. The Foreign Minister said that we have learned from past experiences that local communities are able to cope with terrorism and defeat it but when they were absent from the scene and were ignored they have suffered and lost confidence in the international community. On the Libyan question, the Foreign Minister pointed out that the two countries ' ideas and visions are also identical in the Libyan issue, stressing the need for Libya to be uniform. He also confirmed support for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Martin Kobler's mission to reach a political solution there. For his part, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, HE Paolo Gentiloni, stressed the depth of bilateral relations between the two countries which unite vision of their policies at economic and cultural levels, noting that a number of projects and investments will be implemented in the next stage, especially those relating to the Qatar National Vision and cultural joint cooperation. HE Gentiloni said that he discussed with HE Dr. Al Attiyah bilateral relations between the two countries in various areas, including joint cooperation. The two sides also discussed the crisis currently being experienced by countries in the region, especially Syria and Libya, the Italian Minister went on saying. He also said that his country will take part in the Vienna Summit and would exert all efforts to reach a solution to the crises that have beset all the region's countries and avoid a war there. He stressed Qatar and Italy's keenness to move forward in solving the Libyan question despite the numerous risks and potential problems The Italian top diplomat also stressed the need for Libya to remain united for the interest of its people and that of the neighboring countries, welcoming the reconciliation agreement signed in Doha last week between the Libyan tribes of Tuareg and Tebu. HE Gentiloni said his visit to Qatar is a great opportunity for the development of bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as enhancing cooperation with regard to Libya and Syria. Qatar could have an active role at the negotiating table by hosting opposition forces in Syria to reach a political solution to this issue, HE Gentiloni said. The Vienna summit will produce a number of solutions, he said, adding that Italy proposes that Assad step down during the transitional period . On the current crisis between Turkey and Russia, the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation expressed hope that this disagreement would not affect the Vienna summit outputs and underlined the necessity of preventing any escalation. He also called for the respect of Turkey's territorial integrity and prevents the recurrence of such a violation. (QNA)