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Trump hopes Qatar crisis to be resolved quickly

20 September 2017 [14:41] - TODAY.AZ

By Azernews

President of the United States, Donald Trump has said that the dispute between Qatar and its Arab neighbors would be resolved quickly.

“We are right now in a situation where we’re trying to solve a problem in the Middle East. And I think we’ll get it solved, I have a very strong feeling that it will be solved pretty quickly,” Trump said in New York as he met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the White House press service reported.

The meeting in expanded format was attended by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, U.S. Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin, National Security Advisor to General Herbert McMaster, Presidential Adviser Jared Kouchner, Economic Advisor to President Dinah Powell and two other U.S. officials.

Trump continued: “It's my great honor to be with the Emir of Qatar.  And we've been friends a long time; people don't realize that.  We know each other for a long time. And we are right now in a situation where we’re trying to solve a problem in the Middle East, and I think we'll get it solved.”

The Gulf crisis erupted after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism. Qatar has vehemently denied the charges as baseless.

Trump earlier this month was optimistic he could force a breakthrough. 'I think you’d have a deal worked out very quickly,' he said. But a call he arranged between the leaders of Qatar and Saudi Arabia didn't bear fruit and led to disparate statements from the two nations.

The Qatari Emir, in turn, confirmed that the relationship between the United States of America and Qatar is a very strong relationship, a historic relationship.

“We have a lot to talk about -- trade, military cooperation, security cooperation,” he said, further adding: “We have a problem with our neighbors, and your interference will help a lot.”

 “And I'm sure that, with your interference, hopefully we can find a solution for this problem.  We've always said that we're very open for dialogue, and we'll always be open for dialoguethe Emir said.

The four Arab states boycotting Qatar said that sanctions would remain in place until it met their demands and that they would keep a close eye on the tiny Gulf monarchy’s efforts to fight terrorism funding.

They issued a 13-point list of demands to end the standoff. The demands include shutting down the Al Jazeera news network, closing a Turkish military base, cutting ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, and downgrading relations with Tehran.

Qatar insisted it would not agree to any measures that threatened its sovereignty or violated international law.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/regions/164997.html

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