Washington: Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have drawn up a list of demands to be presented to Qatar to resolve a diplomatic crisis between them, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday.
“We understand a list of demands has been prepared and coordinated by the Saudis, Emiratis, Egyptians and Bahrainis,” Tillerson said in a statement.
“We hope the list of demands will soon be presented to Qatar,” he said, just over two weeks after the Gulf allies and Egypt snapped diplomatic ties with its neighbour.
Tillerson said the United States backs a Kuwaiti mediation effort aimed at resolving the crisis.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has called Saudi Arabia’s new crown prince to congratulate him on his elevation.
The White House said Wednesday that Trump called Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman to express their shared commitment to “cutting off all support for terrorists and extremists, as well as how to resolve the ongoing dispute with Qatar.”
“The two leaders discussed the priority of cutting off all support for terrorists and extremists, as well as how to resolve the ongoing dispute with Qatar. They discussed efforts to achieve a lasting peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians,” the White House said in a statement after the call.
Trump and Salman also discussed efforts to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Trump has been working to thaw the US-Saudi relationship, which had setbacks under the Obama administration over its nuclear deal with Iran.
