A Saudi-led bloc of Arab states hostile to Qatar took aim Friday at Kuwaiti mediation and maintained a tough line even after US President Donald Trump offered to help resolve the crisis. Saudi Arabia led the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain in cutting ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of bankrolling Islamist extremist groups and of being too close to Iran.
They also shut down air, maritime and land links and imposed economic sanctions on Qatar. The gas-rich emirate denies the claims and accuses the four countries of attacking its sovereignty. In Washington on Thursday, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, a key figure involved in mediation attempts, met Trump and gave an upbeat assessment of his efforts so far.
At a joint news conference with the emir, Trump offered his own mediation in the three-month crisis, the worst to have gripped the Gulf region in decades. "I would be willing to be the mediator," Trump told reporters. "I would be willing to do so, and I think you'd have a deal worked out very quickly," he said. "I think it's something that's going to get solved fairly easily."
But in a statement early Friday, the Saudi-led bloc showed no signs of backing down as it questioned the Kuwaiti 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 the joint statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency.
The demands include shutting Doha-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera, closing a Turkish military base in the emirate and downgrading Qatari diplomatic ties with Iran. The bloc also voiced "regret" about the Kuwaiti ruler's statement "on the success of mediation in stopping military intervention". Instead, the four Arab states stressed that "the military option has not been and will not be considered" under any circumstances.
"Setting preconditions for dialogue confirms Qatar's lack of seriousness in dialogue, combating and financing terrorism and interfering in the internal affairs of countries," they said. In remarks aired on the Al-Jazeera network, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani rejected the Saudi-led bloc's 13 demands.
Kuwait has emerged as a key mediator in the crisis, while the United States has given mixed signals on its policy. Riyadh and Doha are both key allies of the United States. Trump, who chose Saudi Arabia for his first overseas visit as president in May, two weeks before the crisis erupted, immediately expressed staunch support for Saudi Arabia.
Some other US officials including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have adopted a more measured tone. Tillerson and Sheikh Mohammed announced in July they had signed an agreement to fight terrorism, built on decisions made at a Riyadh summit in May to "wipe terrorism from the face of the Earth".
The White House said Trump had spoken Thursday with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, emphasising the need for all sides to honour commitments made at the Riyadh summit on "defeating terrorism, cutting off funding for terrorist groups, and combating extremist ideology".
Qatar hosts a huge US air base, home to the headquarters of Centcom - the regional command which leads operations against the Islamic State jihadist group. Last month Qatari and US paratroopers held a joint training exercise which American officials said reinforced "the enduring military-to-military" partnership between the two countries.
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