Washington: The Trump government is being drawn even further into the crisis surrounding Qatar and many of its Gulf Arab neighbors, a diplomatic clash it wanted to avoid.
Despite numerous calls by the United States to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to resolve their problems with Qatar on their own, the State Department said Thursday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would visit the region next week To mediate a solution.
Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Tillerson will visit Kuwait, which has been trying to negotiate a deal, Monday after the stops in Ukraine and Turkey.
He said Tillerson would meet with Kuwaiti officials, but his presence in the region leaves open the possibility that he may try to move between neighboring countries to forge a resolution.
The four nations severed diplomatic relations with Qatar a month ago, accusing the small nation of funding terrorism and spreading riots. Qatar has refused to comply fully with a list of demands from its neighbors.
The United States has supported Kuwait’s mediation efforts, but Tillerson’s trip will mark a new level of US involvement in trying to negotiate a resolution.
On Thursday, Nauert warned that the crisis over Qatar might not be resolved quickly.
“We are increasingly concerned that this dispute is at a standstill right now,” he said. “We think this could drag on for weeks, it could drag on for months, it could even intensify.”
He did not specify what kind of escalation the United States fears. But she said that Tillerson remains in close contact with the countries involved.
