At a White House news conference with Sheikh Sabah, Trump said he appreciated the emir’s thus-far unsuccessful bid to end the dispute between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt. He applauded Kuwait’s “critical contributions to regional stability” but also repeated an offer to mediate himself, particularly between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Trump initially appeared to side with Saudi Arabia, but then instructed secretary of state Rex Tillerson to support the Kuwaiti mediation effort. For his part, Sheikh Sabah said he remained hopeful that a resolution to the crisis could be reached. Although Qatar has rejected some of them out of hand, Sheikh Sabah said he believed negotiations were possible.

Source: Hindustan Times September 08, 2017 04:41 UTC