Tillerson in Qatar to Break Five-Week Rift between Doha and Several Gulf States
The top US diplomat Rex Tillerson visited Qatar today as part of his tour to break the five-week rift between Doha and several Arab states.
Tillerson said Qatar has “reasonable” views in the five-week diplomatic crisis with a Saudi-led bloc of Arab countries.
He made the comments after meeting with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and the country’s foreign minister in Doha on Tuesday.
“I’m hopeful we can make some progress to bring this to a point of resolution,” he said after meeting the Qatari emir.
Ahead of his Doha visit, Tillerson made a stop in Kuwait, which is still trying to mediate the dispute.
Tillerson will visit Saudi Arabia before leaving the Arab Gulf region on Thursday. He will hold a meeting with the foreign ministers of the four countries involved in the dispute on Wednesday in Riyadh.
The US State Department has warned the crisis could last months and Tillerson does not expect to produce a breakthrough, but instead, wants to explore possibilities for bringing all sides to the negotiating table.
The unprecedented crisis in the Arab Gulf region unfolded on June 5, when Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar and placed an air, land and sea embargo on the country over claims that Doha supports terrorism.
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