(AFP Photo)
Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani said that a number of Egyptian media outlets received funds to pit the public against Qatar. He did not specify the source of these funds.
Al-Thani’s statements came in a joint press conference with the Secretary General of the Arab League Nabil Al-Araby on Tuesday at the end of the Arab summit in Doha, reported Anadolu Agency.
Al-Thani said he was surprised by media statements regarding Qatari support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, but that he trusted the intellectual abilities of the Egyptian people.
He explained that Qatar had offered $2bn in aid to Egypt during the rule of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces before President Mohamed Morsi came to power in June.
“We were accused of attempting to buy Egypt; for instance, they said we wanted to rent the Pyramids for 5 years, and to buy the Suez Canal. We never said anything about this,” Al-Thani said.
He added that there were talks with the former President Hosni Mubarak regarding a project to the east of the Suez Canal, but renting or buying the Canal was never mentioned.
Al-Thani said that these claims were rumours aiming to involve Qatar in tensions between the opposition and the regime. He stressed that his country was not interfering in Egyptian affairs.
The Qatari embassy was not available for comment.
