U.S. URGES ‘REASONABLE, ACTIONABLE’ DEMANDS BE GIVEN TO DOHA Tillerson supports Kuwait mediation
Turkey, Iran send food, aid to Qatar
WASHINGTON, June 22, (Agencies): US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday that he supports Kuwait’s effort to help certain Arab nations and Qatar to resolve their differences, and urged that a list of grievances be presented to Doha as soon as possible.
“In regards to the continuing dispute within the GCC, we understand a list of demands has been prepared and coordinated by the Saudis, Emiratis, Egyptians, and Bahrainis,” Tillerson said in a statement.
“We hope the list of demands will soon be presented to Qatar and will be reasonable and actionable, we support the Kuwaiti mediation effort and look forward to this matter moving toward a resolution,” he affirmed.
Tillerson’s comments came in a short statement a day after the State Department bluntly questioned the motives of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in announcing their boycott of Qatar on June 5, saying it was “mystified” the Gulf states had not released their grievances.
It was Washington’s strongest language yet on a dispute that erupted after the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties and transport links to isolate Qatar. The Arab countries accuse Qatar of funding terrorism, fomenting regional instability or cosying up to their enemy Iran. Qatar has denied the accusations.
Asked about the Qatar issue at a later news conference, Tillerson said the United States wanted to achieve unity among the Gulf Cooperation Council countries so that they can focus on the fight against Islamic State militants across the region.
“Our role has been to encourage the parties to get their issues on the table, clearly articulated, so that those issues can be addressed and some resolution process can get under way to bring this to a conclusion,” Tillerson said.
Qatar hosts a vital US military base, Al Udeid, to which more than 11,000 US and coalition forces are deployed or assigned and from which more than 100 aircraft operate.
US President Donald Trump has taken a tough stance on Qatar, accusing it of being a “high level” sponsor of terrorism, but he has also offered help to the parties in the dispute to resolve their differences.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed “concern about the funding of terrorism” to the emir of Qatar on Wednesday, calling for dialogue to end Doha’s row with Arab states.
In a telephone call with Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, “the prime minister raised Canada’s concern with the funding of terrorism and extremism, wherever it takes place,” according to a statement.
Trudeau “emphasized the value of maintaining an open dialogue amongst disputing parties,” his office said.
“The leaders further discussed the need to de-escalate current tensions, limit the impact on affected families in the region, and continue to address the root causes of terrorism.”
Turkey, Iran send aid
Turkey on Thursday sent a first ship loaded with aid for its embattled regional ally Qatar, which has been hit by sanctions from Gulf powers led by Saudi Arabia, state media said.
Almost two dozen Turkish troops also arrived in Qatar as Ankara ramps up military support for Doha, even as it tries not to irritate Riyadh.
Turkey has already sent over 100 planes with food and other aid for Qatar, but this is the first time a cargo ship has embarked on the voyage to Doha.
The ship left the Aegean port of Aliaga in Izmir province with around 4,000 tonnes of fruit, vegetables and other foodstuffs on board, the Anadolu news agency said. It should arrive in 10 days.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain broke off relations with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting “terrorism” and leaving Doha economically and politically isolated.
But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan immediately vowed to support Qatar and vehemently rejected the accusations — already strongly denied by Doha — that Qatar supports terrorism.
Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said Wednesday that Turkey had already sent 105 cargo flights to Qatar loaded with aid to help the country through the crisis.
A bill was also fast-tracked through the Turkish parliament this month allowing Ankara to send up to several thousand troops to a base in Qatar.
A contingent of 23 soldiers
and five armoured vehicles arrived in Qatar on Thursday, the Turkish army said in a statement.
The Hurriyet daily said that there were now 113 Turkish soldiers in Qatar, while adding that the armoured vehicles did not include tanks.
The crisis has put Turkey in a delicate position as Ankara regards Qatar as its chief ally in the Gulf, but is also keen to maintain its improving relations with the key regional power Saudi Arabia.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu made a tour of Gulf capitals last week, including Riyadh and Doha, in the hope of finding a solution but his visit appeared not to bear any fruit.
Ankara has stopped short of directly criticising Saudi Arabia’s actions, merely calling on Riyadh to take a lead role in solving the crisis.
In a sign of the importance of the relations with Riyadh, Erdogan held phone talks late Wednesday with Saudi King Salman after the sudden appointment of his son Mohammed bin Salman as crown prince in place of Mohammed bin Nayef.
Erdogan also spoke with Mohammed bin Salman himself and offered his congratulations over the move, Anadolu said.
Both sides expressed a commitment to further strengthening relations between Ankara and Riyadh and to “step up efforts” to end the tensions concerning Qatar, it added.
Relations between Saudi Arabia and Turkey had been damaged by Riyadh’s role in the 2013 ousting of Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, a close ally of Ankara.
But ties thawed considerably after the accession of Salman to the throne in 2015, with the king warmly welcomed on visits to Turkey.
Iran, meanwhile, is shipping more than 1,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables to Qatar every day after Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia cut relations with Doha, Fars news agency reported Thursday.
Iran, an arch-rival of Saudi Arabia, began exporting food to Qatar days later as the unprecedented Gulf crisis left the isolated emirate without the land transport links it usually relies on to import food.
Mohammad Mehdi Bonchari, director of ports in Iran’s Boushehr province, said Tehran was shipping 1,100 tonnes of food each day to Qatar, Fars reported.
Iran has also flown food to the emirate.
On June 11, Iran’s national airline told AFP that it had sent five planes of vegetables to Qatar.
On the same day Fars quoted the head of Iran’s cattle exporting association as saying 66 tonnes of beef had been exported to Qatar, with another 90 tonnes of beef expected to follow.
Qatar’s air lines have been forced to re-route some of their flights to go over Iran to avoid the newly banned skies over Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Bahrain.
That has increased traffic in Iranian air space by 17 percent, the official state news agency has reported.
Qatar Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani sent a cable of congratulations Wednesday to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia on the appointment of Prince Mohammad Bin Salman as Crown Prince and Deputy Premier, official media reported.
In the cable, Sheikh Tamim wished King Salman good health and wellness, perpetual progress and prosperity for the Saudi people under his wise leadership, and further growth and development in the Qatari-Saudi brotherly ties, according to Qatar News Agency.
The Qatari Amir also sent a congratulatory cable to Prince Mohammad Bin Salman on his new appointment as Saudi Crown Prince and Deputy Premier, wishing him good luck and success in his new tasks to serve the Kingdom under the wise leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
Saudi King congratulated