US’ Pompeo renews calls for solving Gulf crisis

Monitoring Desk

KUWAIT CITY: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday called for urgent solution to the crisis between Qatar and Gulf neighbors.

“We need the Gulf countries working together on the complex set of challenges that face each of them,” Pompeo told a joint press conference with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamed Al-Sabah in the Kuwaiti capital.

Hailing Kuwaiti efforts to solve the crisis, Pompeo noted that Washington was committed to the security of Kuwait.

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt abruptly severed all ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

Qatar has vociferously denied the accusations, describing the Saudi-led embargo as a violation of international law and its national sovereignty.

Since the crisis began, Kuwait has attempted to mediate what has been described as the “worst political crisis” in the Gulf history.

These efforts, however, have so far failed to yield any breakthroughs.

“We are working to help those countries find a set of common ground,” Pompeo said.

“We all have the same set of threats, the threats from al-Qaeda and from ISIS [Daesh], the threat from the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

He went on to affirm that “We all are working diligently to find a path forward so that the rift between those countries can be resolved.” (AA)