Arab Gulf leaders have declined President Donald Trump's offers to mediate the region's diplomatic crisis following the announcement on Monday that United Arab Emirates , Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain cut economic and diplomatic ties with Qatar after accusations of "terrorism" against the gas-rich state, the wealthiest in the world per capita.
Trump called the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad al-Thani offering to help resolve the crisis, urging action to combat extremism.
"The President offered to help the parties resolve their differences, including through a meeting at the White House if necessary," the White House said in a statement following the call.
Read more: Gulf Diplomatic Crisis: Why Trump must label Qatar as a state sponsor of Terrorism
Speaking to Abu Dhabi's crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, Trump advocated unity among Gulf Arabs "but never at the expense of eliminating funding for radical extremism or defeating terrorism."
On Tuesday, Trump tweeted his support for the Gulf embargo, taking some credit for the decision which he claimed was a reaction to his Saudi visit in May.
"So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" he wrote on the social media site.
Following the president's about-face on the crisis, Saudi Arabia has turned down his offer of mediation. "We have not asked for mediation, we believe this issue can be dealt with among the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council," the country's foreign minister said on Saudi state television. Officials in the UAE have warned there was "nothing to negotiate."
Kuwaiti ruler Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber arrived in Doha Thursday to open up channels of dialog. The Associate Press reported he met Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on his arrival Wednesday night. The Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a statement the two held talks on how "restore the normal relations" of the Gulf.
Qatar is a key U.S. ally and has hosted the United States' largest Airbase in the Gulf since 2003. The base, which Qatar spent $1 billion of its own money to help build, houses 11,000 U.S. troops
The Al Udeid Air Base has also been used by B-52 bombers to carry out a series of airstrikes against the Islamic State group's (ISIS) supply warehouses in Iraq and Syria in 2016.
The countries involved in the dispute accuse Qatar of giving financial support to ISIS; Qatar has also accused Saudi Arabia of backing the militant group. The current crisis is an eruption of simmering tensions fomented in the 2011 Arab Spring when Qatar and the Saudi Kingdom backed rival proxies. Doha is a longstanding supporter of groups aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist movement now banned in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations.
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About the writer
Callum Paton is a staff writer at Newsweek specializing in North Africa and the Middle East. He has worked freelance ... Read more
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