BERLIN
The emir of Qatar has rejected accusations of giving financial support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani - at 34, the youngest head of state in the Arab world - told reporters at a joint Berlin press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that his country would not support any "terrorist" group in Syria or Iraq.
“What we witness in Syria and Iraq is extremism and these groups are partly receiving support from abroad. But Qatar has never supported and would never support terrorist organizations,” he said.
The oil and gas rich small Persian Gulf state has been criticized by several countries for providing financial support to extremist groups in Syria.
David Cohen, the U.S. Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in March that fundraisers operating in the country had solicited donations to fund extremist insurgents in Syria.
In March, former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also accused Qatar and Saudi Arabia of inciting and encouraging "terrorist" movements.
On Wednesday, Al Thani denied allegations of financial support to ISIL and underlined that Qatar had long warned of extremism in Syria.
“If this would not be stopped, it may lead to more extremism and things can get out of control,” he said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she had a frank and open discussion with Al Thani about the allegations.
“The emir has ensured us that the fight against terrorist organization ISIL is a concern for the security of Qatar, as it is a concern for security of other countries and also Germany,” she said.
Merkel underlined that Qatar has also joined the international coalition against ISIL, and thus had "no reason not to believe in the statements of the Emir.”
Qatar and Germany are among 29 countries that met in the French capital Monday to discuss ways to counter the ISIL threat, the participants agreeing to support the new Iraqi government in its fight against ISIL “by any means necessary" the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
Violence by ISIL has claimed more than 1,400 lives in Iraq, and caused 1.2 million Iraqis, including Turkmen, Arabs, Christians and Ezidis, to flee their homes.
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