MOSCOW, September 17 (RIA Novosti) - The Emir of Qatar on Wednesday rejected German allegations that the Gulf state is providing Islamic State (IS) terrorists with financial support, Spiegel Online reported.
"Qatar is not and has never financed terrorist groups," Qatar's Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani was quoted as saying during a joint press conference with German chancellor Angela Merkel.
The 34-year-old monarch is currently in Germany on a state visit.
In August, German Development Minister Gerd Mueller accused Qatar of funding Islamic State jihadists.
"This kind of conflict always has a history . . . The Islamic State fighters are lost sons, some of them from Iraq. We need to ask ourselves who is arming, who is financing Islamic State troops. The keyword here is Qatar," Mueller then said.
The Emir stated that Qatar had never supported IS militants, neither in Syria nor in Iraq.
Following the meeting with Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Merkel said that she had "no reason not to believe him" and noted that Qatar is an important strategic partner for Germany.
According to Spiegel Online, German arms exports to Qatar amounted to 635 million euros in the first half of 2013.
The Islamic State, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) or Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), is a Sunni jihadist group that has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012, expanding its attacks to northern and western regions of Iraq in June 2014. The militants have seized vast areas in both countries and proclaimed an Islamic caliphate on all the territories under their control.
