The Qatari authorities have filed a complaint with the United Nations regarding an alleged violation of the country's airspace by a UAE's military aircraft, the state QNA news agency said Friday.
According to the agency, the Qatari ambassador to the UN sent a message to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as well as to the president of the Security Council regarding the incident, saying that the alleged violation occurred on December 21 at 9:45 a.m. local time and lasted one minute.
"HE Sheikha Alia (Ahmed bin Saif Al —Than) confirmed that the UAE plane entered the airspace of the State of Qatar without prior knowledge or approval of the competent Qatari authorities," the ambassador said as quoted by QNA, adding that "the incident was a flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the State of Qatar, as well as a flagrant violation of the provisions of international law, conventions, charters and international norms."
However, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash denied the accusation in his Twitter page.
"We are working on responding to that officially with proof and evidence," he said. "We see this as an escalation and (it) is unjustified, and what used to happen behind the scenes is now uncovered."
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The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain cut off diplomatic relations and communication with Qatar last year, accusing the country of supporting terrorism and interfering in their internal affairs. The Maldives, Mauritius, and Mauritania followed suit, and Jordan and Djibouti reduced the level of their diplomatic missions in Qatar, while Doha has denied the allegations and criticized the restrictive measures imposed against it.
