Trump calls on Qatar to stop funding terrorism 'at a very high level'

Washington: President Donald Trump accused Qatar on Friday of funding terrorism "at a very high level," and said solving the problem in the Gulf nation could be "the beginning of the end of terrorism."

"No more funding," Trump said.

Launching an extraordinary allegation against a key US military partner, Trump derided what he called Qatar's "extremist ideology in terms of funding" terrorist groups, an accusation Qatar has repeatedly and vehemently denied. His comments were a forceful endorsement of this week's move by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE to cut off ties to Qatar.

Trump said Arab leaders he met with in Saudi Arabia last month had urged him to confront Qatar over its behaviour.

"The time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding," Trump said. "They have to end that funding."

Speaking in the Rose Garden, the president said Qatar had "historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level." Other US officials have said Qatar has already taken some steps to reduce terror funding but that the steps are insufficient.

It wasn't immediately clear how Trump's sharp condemnation might affect US cooperation with Qatar, which hosts some 10,000 US troops and a major US air base that serves as a staging ground for operations in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. The Qatari Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.