Dubai: US President Donald Trump held a telephone conversation with UAE’s Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing crisis with Qatar.
The US “underscored the importance of unity among United States partners in the region”, a hint at Washington’s continued urge to keep the Gulf Cooperation Council unified, and find a settlement.
Trump also stressed “the need for all countries to do more to cut off funding for terrorist groups, discredit extremist ideology, and defeat terrorism.”
The US President’s call to the UAE leadership comes days after American and Kuwaiti efforts led to the first phone conversation since the crisis began on June 5, when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain severed diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar over its financing of terrorism.
Qatar’s Emir Tamim Bin Hamad called the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman on Friday, but later released a “false” story saying that Riyadh had initiated the phone call.
Saudi Arabia slammed the Qatari response accusing elements within the Qatari ruling elite of trying to sabotage a resolution to the crisis.
