NATO official rules out possibility of Qatar joining the military alliance

According to pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, a NATO official on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of Qatar joining the military alliance, saying it was limited to the United States and Europe after a Qatari minister announced that his country was aspiring to join the alliance in the long term.

Qatar’s defense minister said on Tuesday that his country’s long-term strategic “ambition” is to join the Western military defense alliance NATO.

“Qatar today has become one of the most important countries in the region in terms of the quality of armament,” Attiyah told the official magazine of the Qatari defense ministry, Altalaya.