On Qatar's claim of banning its citizens from Hajj this year, the Foreign Minister affirmed that the history of the Kingdom is clear with regard to facilitating the arrival of any visitor to the House of Allah, whether for Umrah or Hajj. The Kingdom is making great efforts in this regard and does not accept politicization of Hajj because they are sacred rituals and duties on every Muslim." He pointed out that the Kingdom encourages the arrival of every Muslim from anywhere in the world to visit the House of God, and we reject what Qatar is trying to do to politicize this matter and consider that it does not respect Hajj or pilgrims, stressing that brothers from Qatar are welcome to perform Hajj just like any person from any place in the world. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the UAE, and Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa also spoke at the joint press conference. --SPA 23:05 LOCAL TIME 20:05 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w456492