Washington - US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is expected to meet Saudi King Salman today, before holding talks with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia and three other Arab states that have imposed a blockade on Qatar. The visit to Jeddah follows meetings in Doha with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. "I think Qatar has been quite clear in its positions, and I think those have been very reasonable," Tillerson said on Tuesday. Tillerson and the Qatari foreign minister also announced that the US and Qatar made an agreement on combating "terrorism" and its financing during the visit. Abdulrahman Al Thani said the memorandum of understanding has nothing to do with the current dispute. But Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) called the agreement "insufficient".
They added that the memorandum is "the result of pressure and repeated calls over the past years by the four states and their partners upon Qatar to stop supporting terrorism", an allegation Qatar denies. Wednesday's trip to Saudi Arabia will be the third leg of Tillerson's four-day trip to the Gulf aimed at helping find a solution to the ongoing dispute in the region. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar on June 5 and imposed a land, air and sea blockade on the country. The quartet accuse Qatar of funding "terrorism", an accusation Qatar rejects as "baseless".
On Monday, Tillerson held talks with the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah and other senior officials. "We are trying to resolve an issue that concerns not just us but the whole world," Sheikh Sabah told Tillerson. US officials said Tillerson does not expect an immediate breakthrough, which they warned could be months away. Rather, they said, he wants to explore possibilities for prompting negotiations.
On June 22, the Saudi-led group issued a 13-point list of demands, including the shutdown of Al Jazeera, limiting ties with Iran and expelling Turkish troops stationed in the country, as a prerequisite to lift the sanctions. Doha rejected the demands and the countries now consider the list "null and void". Kuwait is trying to mediate the dispute.(FA)
