Gulf Arab states expressed support Sunday for ally Qatar in its row with Russia over the arrest of two Russian security agents charged with assassinating a Chechen leader in the Gulf emirate that prompted Moscow to detain two Qataris.
Gulf foreign ministers voiced their "solidarity with Qatar and their backing of all measures it has taken and will take to establish the circumstances" of the killing of former Chechen president Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev in Doha, said a statement issued after a two-day meeting here.
The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) chief diplomats "condemned the car blast" which killed Yandarbiyev in Doha on February 13, describing it as "a criminal act which violates religious, moral and human values," the statement said.
It did not specifically mention Russia, and the Kuwaiti chairman of the GCC said the crisis should not be blown out of proportion.
Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani told reporters the stand taken by fellow GCC states was "rightful," because "a person was killed in our country and we are searching for the truth, which we will reveal in due course."
The Qatari minister said Doha was in contact with Moscow over the arrest of two of its citizens, and "we will take a stand after the picture becomes clearer."
As for the Russian pair held in Doha, "they have been charged, referred to justice, and we are awaiting the outcome of the trial," he added.
Qatar demanded earlier Sunday that Russia explain why the two Qataris were arrested in Moscow.
"The (foreign) ministry confirms that it is in continual contact with the Russian foreign ministry demanding clarifications and an explanation ... and the reasons why two Qatari citizens were arrested" Thursday night, a ministry official said in a statement to the Qatar News Agency.
"The Russian foreign ministry has replied that it will furnish an official response on Monday," the official added.
Qatari sources said the two were officials with a judo team transiting through a Moscow airport en route to a tournament in Serbia when they were detained.
Qatar's Asharq newspaper ran an editorial headlined "Russian-style piracy" and charged Moscow with "jungle diplomacy".
Doha raised its tone as the deputy speaker of the Russian parliament, Dmitry Rogozin, was quoted as calling for the use of military force to compel Qatar to free the two Russians.
Kuwaiti Information Minister Mohammed Abu al-Hasan, whose country currently chairs the oil-rich Gulf bloc, told a news conference after the meeting he expected both Moscow and Doha to try to avoid an escalation.
"The (GGC) statement was clear in its reference to the incident which happened in Qatar, but we do not expect, and we do not hope, that this crisis will lead to the use of force," said Abu al-Hasan, who stood in for the Kuwaiti foreign minister.
"Both countries are keen on (safeguarding) Arab-Gulf-Russian relations, and consequently there are leaders who have the wisdom and sagacity not to take this dispute, which can happen between any two states, further," he said.
Apart from Kuwait and Qatar, the GCC groups Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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