The United States and Qatar discussed strengthening defense relations

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani discussed strengthening defense relations between Doha and Washington. This was reported by the Reuters news agency on September 16.

"We have a close partnership with Qatar. We have an agreement on expanded cooperation in the field of defense, which is being finalized," Rubio said.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid al-Ansari said after the meeting that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) strike on the leadership of the Palestinian Hamas movement in Doha indicates the need to conclude an agreement between the United States and Qatar on joint defense.

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On September 9, the IDF press service reported attacks on the top leadership of the Hamas movement. The IDF stressed that measures had been taken before the strike to minimize damage to the civilian population. So, the strikes were carried out with precision weapons, additional intelligence data was used.

On the same day, the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Anthony Guterres, condemned the Israeli strikes on Qatar, calling them a blatant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this state.

The Russian Foreign Ministry regarded the Israeli strike on Doha as a gross violation of international law and the UN Charter. In addition, the Russian ministry stressed that the rocket attack on Qatar, which plays an important role in mediation between Hamas and Israel, is aimed at undermining international efforts to find peaceful solutions to end the conflict.

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