Trump offers to mediate in Qatar crisis, Arab states stay tough
SCEPTICAL Saudiled bloc challenges Kuwait’s statement that Qatar would be willing to accept their 13 demands
President Donald Trump offered on Thursday to mediate in the crisis between Qatar and its Arab neighbours and said he believed the dispute could be solved “fairly easily.”
“I would be willing to be the mediator,” Trump told reporters at a joint press conference with Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
“I would be willing to do so, and I think you’d have a deal worked out very quickly,” Trump said. “I think it’s something that’s going to get solved fairly easily.”
However, the Saudi-led bloc of countries hostile to Qatar on Friday challenged statements by the Kuwaiti emir, denying his mediation has seen progress in finding a solution to the Gulf dispute.
The Kuwaiti Emir had given an upbeat assessment of his mediation efforts, but the Saudi-led bloc questioned the emir’s statement that Qatar would be willing to accept their 13 demands.
“Dialogue on the implementation of the demands should not be preceded by any conditions,” they said in a joint statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of having ties with Shia Iran and fundamentalist Islamist groups. Doha denies the claims and accuses the bloc of an attack on its sovereignty.
The US has given mixed signals on its policy to the Gulf crisis while Kuwait has emerged as a
US president Donald Trump on Thursday nominated another Indian American to a senior position in his administration. Manisha Singh, a lawyer, has been named assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs.
If confirmed, she will be the newest addition to a growing list of Indian Americans picked by Trump to serve in his administration, including his ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley.
Singh, 45, was born in India and grew up in Florida. She has practised law in Washington and Philadelphia.
key mediator.
Riyadh and Doha are both key allies of the US. Trump chose Saudi Arabia for his first overseas visit as president in May.
Qatar is meanwhile home to a huge US air base, where the headquarters of Centcom — the regional command which leads operations against the Islamic State jihadist group — is based.