Pompeo: Gulf row has gone on for too long
HE STRESSES UNITY TO COUNTER IRAN AS OMAN LAUNCHES MEDIATION EFFORTS
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said yesterday the ongoing Gulf crisis in the Middle East “has dragged on too long”, though he gave no sign of any coming breakthrough in the dispute.
“We are all more powerful when we are working together and disputes are limited. When we have a common challenge, disputes between countries with shared objectives are never helpful,” he said at a press conference in Qatar.
The crisis erupted on June 5, 2017, when Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, in addition to Egypt, cut off diplomatic, commerce and travel relations with Qatar for harbouring extremists and for interfering in their internal affairs.
Pompeo later arrived in Riyadh, where he is expected to meet with Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.
For Washington, turning the page on the crisis is essential for the successful launch of the Strategic Alliance of the Middle East (Mesa), which is a Nato-style security pact that includes Gulf countries as well as Egypt and Jordan. It is aimed at countering Iranian expansionism, among other issues.
Meanwhile, Oman, the chair of the Gulf Cooperation Council session, has also launched a bid to end the Gulf crisis.
The Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday posted on its Twitter account that Oman was working on achieving the objectives of the GCC.
Oman’s Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yousuf Bin Alawi, accompanied by GCC Secretary-General Abdul Lateef Al Zayani, visited the other five GCC countries. The ambitious drive started on Wednesday in Kuwait, where Bin Alawi and Al Zayani met the Emir, Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad, and senior Kuwaiti officials.
They subsequently held talks with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is moving ahead with his meetings in GCC states to promote Washington’s current priorities in the Middle East that include “countering Iran, destroying Daesh and ensuring regional stability”.
“Countering Iran, the threat from the world’s largest state sponsor of terror — the Islamic Republic of Iran — is something President Trump has identified as one of his top priorities,” he said in an interview with Al Arabiya.
“We are determined to do that; we will do it with our partners in the Middle East. This is a mission for the world. It’s incredibly important and we are determined to do it.”
Pompeo started his GCC tour with Bahrain on Friday following visits to Jordan, Egypt and Iraq.
The highlight of the multileg tour is his visit to Saudi Arabia where he will meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.
Moving forward
He is expected to once again stress that Saudi-US relations will keep moving forward in the aftermath of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul on October 2.
“We absolutely have expectations when things go wrong, when heinous acts have occurred, people need to be held accountable for this, but this relationship predated that and the relationship must go forward,” Pompeo told Al Arabiya.
In in an interview he taped with CBS’ Face the Nation, Pompeo said he would talk about Khashoggi. “And then we’ll talk about all the important things we do with Saudi Arabia and all the support they provide to keep Americans ... safe,” he said.
The State Department last week said Pompeo will meet Saudi leaders in Riyadh to discuss key bilateral and regional priorities, including Yemen, Iran and Syria.
In Muscat, his next destination after Riyadh, Pompeo will meet Omani leaders “to discuss ways to promote peace throughout the region, including in Yemen, and build upon the strong US-Oman partnership.”
In Kuwait, his agenda includes signing an agreement to boost the ongoing Strategic Dialogue as well as memoranda in the areas of defence, security and economy, Reem Al Khalid, the assistant foreign minister for the Americas, said.