U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday accused Qatar of being a "high level" sponsor of terrorism, potentially hindering the U.S. Department of State's efforts to ease heightening tensions and a blockade of the Gulf nation by Arab states and others.
"I want to call on all other nations to stop immediately supporting terrorism", Trump said. The measures are more severe than during a previous eight-month rift in 2014, when Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE withdrew their ambassadors from Doha, again alleging Qatari support for militant groups. "Are we really supposed to believe that the Saudis are now upset because Qatar is funding them as well", Lazare asked?
Despite Tillerson's plea for "no further escalation", Trump's sharp comments were likely to further embolden Saudi Arabia and the others in their bid to isolate Qatar. He says the USA asks that there be "no further escalation".
"So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off".
It said that Trump, in a later call with Abu Dhabi's crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, called for unity among Gulf Arabs "but never at the expense of eliminating funding for radical extremism or defeating terrorism".
Tillerson demanded that Qatar, as well as the other countries, take steps to curtail support for terrorism.
"(Qatar) embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS (Islamic State) and al-Qaeda, and promotes the message and schemes of these groups through their media constantly", Saudi state news agency SPA said. Previously, the US had insisted the Qatar crisis wouldn't affect USA military efforts in the Middle East.
Still, the Pentagon has been developing contingency plans in case there's any interruption, defense officials said.
Rio Ferdinand hopes to see Cristiano Ronaldo back at Manchester United
The club - which also won La Liga last season - lead the way in the elite European competition with 12 trophies. Barcelona and Argentina footballer Lionel Messi , who has been handed a 21-month jail term.
Qatar dismissed allegations of support for Islamist militancy on Friday after four Arab states, which cut ties with Qatar this week, blacklisted as terrorists dozens of people with alleged links to Qatar.
Turkey and Qatar have both provided support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and backed rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
"Qatar has a history of supporting groups that span the spectrum of political expression, from activism to violence", Tillerson said.
The spat has led to one of the worst Gulf crises in decades, with suspended flights and regional ports closed to Qatari ships. The announcement is meant to increase pressure on Qatar in the ongoing orchestrated diplomatic and economic campaign against the tiny energy-rich emirate. The country called the allegations "baseless".
Nauert says the USA isn't sure whether the countries in the region will take up the US on its offer to mediate.
Associated Press writers Robert Burns, Lolita C. Baldor and Julie Pace contributed to this report.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks about Qatar at the State Department in Washington, Friday June 9, 2017.
And the emir of Kuwait has met with two top United Arab Emirates officials to attempt to mediate the situation, the wire service says.
Comments