H.E. the foreign minister of Qatar, SH. Hamad Ben Jassim Ben Jabor Al-Thani denied that the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has threatened to attack Qatar or any other Arab Gulf State if the U.S. attacks Baghdad adding in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV programme (Billa Hudood) aired by the Qatari Doha-based TV Satellite station, Al-Jazeera, Wednesday, that he went to Iraq last month carrying a message from the Emir of Qatar HH SH Hamad Ben Khalifa Al-Thani dealing with proposals to defuse the crisis over the return of UN inspectors to Baghdad.

SH Hamad added that Saddam was very friendly when he spoke about Arab Gulf States in general and has expressed the hope that these states would not participate in any U.S.-led military action against his country.

The Qatari minister also said Saddam was well aware of the dangers engulfing his country and people and that he is making a real effort to contain the crisis by accepting the unconditional return of the UN weapons inspectors to his country. SH Hamad added that Iraq stands a 30% chance of avoiding war if Baghdad were to accept a new UN resolution being debated at the UN security council at present.

The Qatari Minister meanwhile left open the possibility that the United States could use an air base in Qatar to attack Iraq but said the decision will be made later as Doha has not received any request to that effect from the Americans yet.

The Qatari Minister also denied any cooperation between Doha and Tel Aviv Describing his country's relations with that entity as being very limited in scope adding that Qatar, unlike a number of other Arab countries who have unannounced relations with the American military establishment and with Israel, prefers to be open in its dealings with the two parties.

The minister added that having an American base in Qatar has nothing to do with competition with the Saudi Kingdom explaining that the U.S. has bases in All Arab Gulf States.

Answering a question on whether Qatar is now being used as a pone by Washington to pressurize the Saudis, the minister responded by saying that Qatar as a sovereign state is free to make its own decisions in the service of its own national interests and would not allow itself under any circustances to be used as a pone in the hands of any other party and that Qatar would rather prefer to play a supporting role with the Saudis.

He also strongly denied reports in the press that the US air base in Qatar is being used as a spy center against Saudi Arabia or that there are Israeli agents stationed there for that purpose. In this context, H.E. pointed to the fact that Saudi-Qatari relations are deep-rooted in history despite the current discourse with Riyadh and that the differences between the two sides can be resolved through brotherly constructive dialogue. H.E. accused un-named dishonest brokers of trying to inflame the situation. SH Hamad stressed that Doha needs no mediators to sort out the current misunderstanding with Saudi Arabia.

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H.E. the foreign minister of Qatar, SH. Hamad Ben Jassim Ben Jabor Al-Thani denied that the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has threatened to attack Qatar or any other Arab Gulf State if the U.S. attacks Baghdad adding in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV programme (Billa Hudood) aired by the Qatari Doha-based TV Satellite station, Al-Jazeera, Wednesday, that he went to Iraq last month carrying a message from the Emir of Qatar HH SH Hamad Ben Khalifa Al-Thani dealing with proposals to defuse the crisis over the return of UN inspectors to Baghdad.