Trump, Tillerson offer conflicting statements on Qatar crisis within 90 minutes

But what they produced was more mixed signals as President Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson contradicted each other in separate statements about the tiny Emirate, which happens to host the largest US air base in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain welcomed on Saturday US President Donald Trump's demand for Qatar to stop supporting terrorism. "They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar".

"The next step is for Qatar to acknowledge these concerns and commit to re-examine its regional policies", Yousuf Al Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to the USA, told WAM.

Having apparently been caught on the hop by the speed with which the dispute has spiraled - despite meeting all of the leaders concerned in Riyadh last month - Trump has asked Tillerson to mediate. Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis have emphasized the need for Gulf unity and the importance of the USA partnership with Qatar, home to the Al Udeid Air Base, the main regional center for air missions against ISIS.

The president said Qatar must end its support for extremism, along with "all other nations". Qatar has denied it backs terrorists and accuses the Saudis of seeking to dominate their smaller neighbors.

The Pentagon said the blockade was hindering U.S. ability to plan for long-term operations in the region.

Turkey's parliament has approved deploying troops to a base in Qatar and Iran has offered to send food.

But at the Pentagon, N avy Captain Jeff Davis said only long-term military planning was affected.

"While current operations from Al Udeid Air Base have not been interrupted or curtailed, the evolving situation is hindering our ability to plan for longer-term military operations".

"The blockade is also impairing U.S. and other worldwide business activities in the region and has created a hardship on the people of Qatar and the peoples whose livelihoods depend on commerce with [Doha]", he said.

The countries accuse Qatar, which hosts a large U.S. air base crucial for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, of funding terrorist groups throughout the region.

Saudi Arabia and many of its Arab allies, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Yemen, Libya's transitional government, as well as Maldives and Mauritius cut diplomatic ties with Qatar this week.

Russian Federation called on Saturday for dialogue between Qatar and its neighbors in the Gulf, promising help in mediating the crisis.

The United Nations has rejected a list complied by Saudi Arabia and three other countries of alleged Qatar terrorists, saying that the global governing body is "only bound by the sanctions lists put together by UN organs".

The row has sparked one of the worst political crises in decades among some of Washington's closest Mideast allies.

Tillerson, speaking at the State Department, said the US would help support efforts to mediate the crisis, along with Kuwait - another Gulf country that has stepped up to try to broker a resolution.