Trump Claims Credit For Isolation
US President Donald Trump has claimed credit for the pressure being placed on Qatar by Gulf neighbours who accuse it of supporting terrorism in the region.
He said his recent visit to Saudi Arabia was “already paying off ” and the development might mark the “beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism”.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Yemen, Libya’s eastern-based government and the Maldives have all cut diplomatic and other ties with Qatar. Qatar strongly denies the allegations.
Mr Trump’s recent speech in the capital Riyadh, in which he blamed Iran for instability in the Middle East and urged Muslim countries to take the lead in combating radicalisation, is seen as likely to have emboldened Gulf allies to act against Qatar. “During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!” Mr Trump tweeted on Tuesday. He later tweeted: “So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding... extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!” Qatar is home to the biggest US military air base in the Middle East, with about 8000 personnel based at al-Udeid.
The official statement from White House spokesperson, Sean Spicer, said the US was in communication with all parties “to resolve issues and restore co-operation”.
“The US still wants to see this issue de-escalated and resolved immediately, in keeping with the principles that the President laid out in terms of defeating terror financing and extremism,” he said.