The US President Donald Trump spoke separately on Friday with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the White House said in a statement. Trump told them that unity among Washington’s Arab partners was essential to promoting regional stability and countering the threat of Iran, the statement said.

“The president also emphasized that all countries must follow through on commitments from the Riyadh Summit to defeat terrorism, cut off funding for terrorist groups, and combat extremist ideology,” it said. Trump also spoke to Qatar’s al-Thani on Thursday. Trump told a news conference on Thursday that he would be willing to step in and mediate a dispute among the US-allied Arab states and Qatar, and said he thought a deal could come quickly.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade links with Qatar on June 5, suspending air and shipping routes with the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, which is home to the region’s biggest US military base. The nations say Doha supports regional foe Iran and Islamists, charges Qatar’s leaders deny.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App</s>President Trump spoke Friday with the heads of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar amid a diplomatic rift between the Gulf states.

Trump spoke separately with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, the UAE's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the White House said.

Trump emphasized that unity among Washington's Arab partners "is essential to promoting regional stability and countering the threat of Iran," according to a White House read out of the calls.

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The president "also emphasized that all countries must follow through on commitments from the Riyadh Summit to defeat terrorism, cut off funding for terrorist groups, and combat extremist ideology," it added.

Trump also spoke with Qatar's Al Thani on Thursday after meeting with the emir of Kuwait as the Trump administration ramps up its diplomatic push to resolve a rift between Qatar and its Arab neighbors.

"If I can help mediate between Qatar and, in particular, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, I would be willing to do so. And I think you’d have a deal worked out very quickly," Trump said during a White House press conference Thursday.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain cut trade and diplomatic ties to Qatar in June, alleging that the country supports Iran and extremists, something Qatar denies.</s>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Leaders in Qatar and Saudi Arabia spoke by telephone early Saturday in their first high-level contact since an Arab diplomatic crisis engulfed Doha three months ago, but now even terms of what they discussed have created a new dispute.

That even this small step toward a resolution creates new tension shows how deeply the boycott of Qatar has cut across the typically clubby politics of the Gulf Arab states.

The call also comes after Kuwait's emir, who so far has been unsuccessful in mediating the dispute, met Thursday in the White House with President Donald Trump, who himself offered to arbitrate.

Both governments acknowledged a call between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, next in line to the kingdom's throne, and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

After the call, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said Crown Prince Mohammed would talk to Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates — the other Arab nations boycotting Qatar — and then release details.

The state-run Qatar News Agency immediately published details of the call, saying that Riyadh and Doha had agreed to send two envoys to discuss the dispute.

Qatar said that call came after Trump personally spoke with Sheikh Tamim. The White House earlier acknowledged Trump spoke with Sheikh Tamim and Crown Prince Mohammed, as well as Abu Dhabi's powerful crown prince.

The Saudi and Qatari leaders "stressed the need to resolve this crisis by sitting down to the dialogue to ensure the unity and stability" of Gulf nations, the Qatar News Agency account read.

Saudi Arabia reacted angrily to the Qatari statement, issuing a second message saying Doha's statement did not have "any relevance to truth."

"This proves that the authority in Qatar is not serious in dialogue and continues its previous policies," the SPA said. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia declares that any dialogue or communication with the authority in Qatar shall be suspended until a clear statement explaining its position is made in public."

The Qatar crisis began June 5, with boycotting nations cutting off Doha's land, sea and air routes over its alleged support of extremists and close ties to Iran. Qatar long has denied funding extremists and recently restored full diplomatic relations with Iran, with whom it shares a massive offshore natural gas field.</s>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday hailed efforts by the leader of Kuwait, a staunch American ally, to mediate a festering diplomatic crisis involving Qatar and its Arab neighbors that could have implications for the U.S. military presence in the region.

However, the quartet of Arab nations now boycotting Doha issued a strongly worded statement early Friday morning dismissing some of Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah's comments, signaling the diplomatic crisis roiling the Gulf is far from over.

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. He suggested a deal would be "worked out very quickly" if he became personally involved.

Trump said all the countries involved — members of the Gulf Cooperation Council — are "essential partners" with the United States in efforts to crack down on extremism, including the fight against Islamic State group. "We will be most successful with a united GCC," he said. "We will send a strong message to both terrorist organizations and regional aggressors that they cannot win."

His comments came after he sent conflicting signals about where he stands on the dispute. Trump initially appeared to side with Saudi Arabia, but then instructed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to support the Kuwaiti mediation effort. Still, the dispute has dragged on for more than three months, even after Tillerson shuttled between the parties in July and dispatched two other U.S. envoys to bolster the 88-year-old Kuwaiti emir's initiative.

The crisis erupted June 5 when Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all cut ties to Doha over allegations Qatar funds extremists and has ties that are too warm with Iran. Qatar, which hosts a U.S. military base critical to the effort to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, has long denied funding extremists. It recently restored full diplomatic ties to Iran, with which it shares a massive offshore natural gas field that makes its citizens among the world's wealthiest.

In his comments, Trump offered a pointed reminder that terrorism financing is at the heart of the crisis. At one point he said the dispute "began because of that fact that there has been massive funding of terrorism by certain countries." He did not identify those countries, but in June he had made reference to Saudi and other Arab complaints about Qatar.

For his part, Sheikh Sabah said he remained hopeful that a resolution to the crisis could be reached. He noted that Qatar had been presented with a list of 13 demands by the other countries and was willing to discuss them. Although Qatar has rejected some of them out of hand, Sheikh Sabah said he believed negotiations were possible.

"I am optimistic that the solution will come in the very near future," he said. "The hope has not ended yet."

That hope appeared in jeopardy early Friday with a statement by the boycotting countries saying "any dialogue on meeting their demands should not be preceded by any prior conditions." The statement, which said the countries "regret" several of the comments by Sheikh Sabah, represents an unusual rebuke in the clubby world of Gulf Arab nations.

The nations also said a military intervention "has not been and will not be considered" to end the crisis, something mentioned by Sheikh Sabah in his remarks as once a possibility. However, Qatari exiles whom analysts believe are backed by the boycotting countries have repeatedly called for a coup in Qatar, while Saudi columnists at state-backed newspapers have repeatedly suggested an invasion to overthrow Qatar's ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

In response to a reporter's question, Trump briefly spoke about his administration's efforts to restart long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Trump plans to meet both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly later this month.

"I think we have a chance of doing it," he said. "I think the Palestinians would like to see it happen, I think the Israelis would like to see it happen."</s>President Trump put pressure on the leader of Qatar in a phone call Thursday to cut off funding sources for terrorism, an issue at the heart of a diplomatic boycott on the small oil-rich Persian Gulf nation by its Arab neighbors.

Mr. Trump reminded Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of the united front against terror financing that the president founded with his May speech in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, according to the White House.

“The President underscored the importance of all countries following through on commitments from the Riyadh Summit to maintain unity while defeating terrorism, cutting off funding for terrorist groups, and combatting extremist ideology,” the White House said.

He also discussed the continued threat Iran poses to regional stability, according to the White House.

The call followed Mr. Trump’s joint press conference at the White House with the emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, where Mr. Trump offered to step in as mediator in the dispute

“If I can help mediate between Qatar and, in particular, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, I would be willing to do so. And I think you’d have a deal worked out very quickly,” Mr. Trump said.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have cut off Qatar since June over its support for militant groups and Iran.

Qatar has denied that its charities finance terrorist groups.</s>Washington: US President Donald Trump has offered to mediate the crisis between Qatar and its Arab neighbours, saying their dispute could be solved "fairly easily".

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have accused Qatar of having ties with fundamentalist Islamist groups. In June, they announced they had cut diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar.

Qatar denies the accusations while Kuwait has emerged as a key mediator in the crisis.

 "I think there is a chance that there could be peace. But again, I say that a little bit reluctantly. We're going to give it our best," Trump told reporters at a joint White House news conference with Kuwait's Emir Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah yesterday.

He said the dispute is something that's going to get solved "fairly easily".

"We have tremendous talent working on that particular transaction. As you know, David Friedman, the ambassador, is very much involved. We have a great group of people. We'll see what happens," he said in response to a question.

He said Israel and Palestinian are discussing to resolve the dispute along with the US.

"They say it is the world's most complex and difficult deal. You know that. But it is something that could happen. I believe that the relationships that we have with both can help. It's an event that's just never taken place," he added.

Responding to a question, Trump said he was willing to mediate between the disputing countries.

"I would be willing to be the mediator. I was telling the Emir before that if I can help between UAE and Saudi Arabia, where I have a very great relationship, I spoke with the King yesterday, King Salman, who is a friend of mine, and we spoke on unrelated subjects, but we had a long conversation," he said.

"If I can help mediate between Qatar and, in particular, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, I would be willing to do so. And I think you'd have a deal worked out very quickly," he added.

The US president said the crisis began because of the fact that there has been massive funding of terrorism by certain countries and he wants to stop that.

"What I want is I want to stop the funding of terrorism, and we're going to stop the funding of terrorism. And if they don't stop the funding of terrorism, I don't want them to come together. But I think they will," Trump said.

The Emir of Kuwait said the Gulf Countries have received a letter from Qatar stating that it is willing to sit down at the table and discuss all the demands, which the other parties have put down.

"We're talking about 13 demands, and I'm certain that all these certain demands, a great part of them will be resolved and the other and perhaps, we might not accept them because anything that effects sovereignty we would not accept. But we are very hopeful. We have great hope in our friends in the US that they will assist them to restore things to where they used to be," he said.</s>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Friday ramped up diplomatic efforts to help resolve Qatar’s crisis with its Arab neighbors, which risks implications for America’s military presence in the Middle East and the fight against the Islamic State group. The U.S. is also concerned that the spat among Arab governments could hamper a shared interest in blunting Iranian assertiveness in the region.

President Donald Trump spoke with Qatar’s leader to affirm the importance of ending the festering, three-month-old dispute between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, the White House said Friday.

Trump’s call to Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Thursday came after he met the emir of Kuwait, whom he thanked for his vigorous yet thus far unsuccessful mediation. Trump reasserted his demand for all countries to stop funding extremist groups. He previously has described how Arab leaders criticized Qatar for such terror financing during a regional summit in Saudi Arabia earlier this year.

Trump “underscored the importance of all countries following through on commitments from the Riyadh Summit to maintain unity while defeating terrorism, cutting off funding for terrorist groups and combatting extremist ideology,” the White House said in a statement. The leaders “also discussed the continued threat Iran poses to regional stability.”

The row has split key U.S. counter terrorism partners and undermined the cohesion of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a traditional bulwark of U.S.-led efforts to contain Iran’s influence.

The White House released its readout of the call after Qatar’s ambassador to the U.S. said the country would donate $30 million to help Texans recover from Harvey.

On Friday, talks about Qatar continued as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met senior Kuwaiti officials at the State Department to discuss regional security and Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah’s mediation bid.

“We support his efforts to help bring about a settlement,” Tillerson said of the Kuwaiti leader. “The United States and Kuwait both recognize the important of GCC unity to meet the challenges of the region that we all face together, not the least of which is the threats from Iran.”

Trump, too, on Thursday offered support. He applauded Kuwait’s “critical contributions to regional stability” and repeated an offer to mediate himself, particularly between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Trump suggested a deal would be “worked out very quickly” if he became personally involved.

But Trump has sent conflicting signals about where he stands on the dispute. He initially appeared to side with Saudi Arabia. Then, he instructed Tillerson to support Kuwait’s mediation, shuttling between the parties in July. As the dispute has dragged on, the administration has dispatched other U.S. envoys to bolster the 88-year-old Kuwaiti emir’s initiative.

At a joint news conference with Trump on Thursday, Sheikh Sabah said he remained hopeful a resolution could be reached. He noted Qatar had been presented with a list of 13 demands by the other countries and was willing to discuss them. Although Qatar has rejected some of them out of hand, Sheikh Sabah said negotiations were possible.

But underscoring the impasse, the quartet of Arab nations boycotting Doha issued a strongly worded statement early Friday morning dismissing some of the emir’s comments. “Any dialogue on meeting their demands should not be preceded by any prior conditions,” they said in a statement that was an unusual, personal rebuke in the clubby world of Gulf Arab states.

The crisis erupted June 5 when Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut ties to Qatar over allegations it funds extremists and is too cozy with Iran. Qatar hosts a U.S. military base critical to the anti-IS fight in Iraq and Syria. It denies funding extremists. It recently restored full diplomatic ties to Iran, with which it shares a massive offshore natural gas field that makes its citizens among the world’s wealthiest.</s>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday hailed efforts by the leader of Kuwait, a staunch American ally, to mediate a festering diplomatic crisis involving Qatar and its Arab neighbors that could have implications for the U.S. military presence in the region.

However, the quartet of Arab nations now boycotting Doha issued a strongly worded statement early Friday morning dismissing some of Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah’s comments, signaling the diplomatic crisis roiling the Gulf is far from over.

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. He suggested a deal would be “worked out very quickly” if he became personally involved.

Trump said all the countries involved — members of the Gulf Cooperation Council — are “essential partners” with the United States in efforts to crack down on extremism, including the fight against Islamic State group. “We will be most successful with a united GCC,” he said. “We will send a strong message to both terrorist organizations and regional aggressors that they cannot win.”

His comments came after he sent conflicting signals about where he stands on the dispute. Trump initially appeared to side with Saudi Arabia, but then instructed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to support the Kuwaiti mediation effort. Still, the dispute has dragged on for more than three months, even after Tillerson shuttled between the parties in July and dispatched two other U.S. envoys to bolster the 88-year-old Kuwaiti emir’s initiative.

The crisis erupted June 5 when Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all cut ties to Doha over allegations Qatar funds extremists and has ties that are too warm with Iran. Qatar, which hosts a U.S. military base critical to the effort to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, has long denied funding extremists. It recently restored full diplomatic ties to Iran, with which it shares a massive offshore natural gas field that makes its citizens among the world’s wealthiest.

In his comments, Trump offered a pointed reminder that terrorism financing is at the heart of the crisis. At one point he said the dispute “began because of that fact that there has been massive funding of terrorism by certain countries.” He did not identify those countries, but in June he had made reference to Saudi and other Arab complaints about Qatar.

For his part, Sheikh Sabah said he remained hopeful that a resolution to the crisis could be reached. He noted that Qatar had been presented with a list of 13 demands by the other countries and was willing to discuss them. Although Qatar has rejected some of them out of hand, Sheikh Sabah said he believed negotiations were possible.

“I am optimistic that the solution will come in the very near future,” he said. “The hope has not ended yet.”

That hope appeared in jeopardy early Friday with a statement by the boycotting countries saying “any dialogue on meeting their demands should not be preceded by any prior conditions.” The statement, which said the countries “regret” several of the comments by Sheikh Sabah, represents an unusual rebuke in the clubby world of Gulf Arab nations.

The nations also said a military intervention “has not been and will not be considered” to end the crisis, something mentioned by Sheikh Sabah in his remarks. However, Qatari exiles whom analysts believe are backed by the boycotting countries have repeatedly called for a coup in Qatar, while Saudi columnists at state-backed newspapers have repeatedly suggested an invasion to overthrow Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

In response to a reporter’s question, Trump briefly spoke about his administration’s efforts to restart long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Trump plans to meet both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly later this month.

“I think we have a chance of doing it,” he said. “I think the Palestinians would like to see it happen, I think the Israelis would like to see it happen.”

In Kuwait, media reports on Thursday focused on the emir’s visit to Washington as a sign of the strong relationship the two countries have, including when a U.S.-led coalition expelled occupying Iraqi forces from the small nation during the 1991 Gulf War. Today, Kuwait hosts some 13,500 American troops, many at Camp Arifjan south of Kuwait City, which also is home to the forward command of U.S. Army Central.

Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Hussain al-Qatari in Kuwait City contributed to this report.</s>Leaders of Qatar and Saudi Arabia spoke by telephone early on Saturday (9 September) in their first high-level contact since an Arab diplomatic crisis engulfed Doha three months ago, but the terms of what they discussed has created a new dispute.

The phone call came after Kuwait's emir, who so far has been unsuccessful in mediating the dispute, on Thursday met US President Donald Trump, who himself offered to arbitrate.

Both governments acknowledged the call between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, next in line to the kingdom's throne, and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

After the call, the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said Crown Prince Mohammed would talk to Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates — the other Arab nations boycotting Qatar — and then release details of the conversation.

However, the state-run Qatar News Agency immediately published details of the call, saying that Riyadh and Doha had agreed to send two envoys to discuss the dispute.

Qatar said that call came after Trump personally spoke with Sheikh Tamim. The White House earlier acknowledged Trump spoke with Sheikh Tamim and Crown Prince Mohammed, as well as Abu Dhabi's powerful crown prince.

The Saudi and Qatari leaders "stressed the need to resolve this crisis by sitting down to the dialogue to ensure the unity and stability" of Gulf nations, the Qatar News Agency account read.

Saudi Arabia reacted angrily to the Qatari statement, issuing a second message saying Doha's statement did not have "any relevance to truth."

"This proves that the authority in Qatar is not serious in dialogue and continues its previous policies," the SPA said. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia declares that any dialogue or communication with the authority in Qatar shall be suspended until a clear statement explaining its position is made in public."

The Qatar crisis began 5 June, with boycotting nations cutting off Doha's land, sea and air routes over its alleged support of extremists and close ties to Iran. Qatar long has denied funding extremists and recently restored full diplomatic relations with Iran, with whom it shares a massive offshore natural gas field.

That even this small step toward a resolution creates new tension shows how deeply the boycott of Qatar has cut across the typically clubby politics of the Gulf Arab states.</s>The Trump administration on Friday ramped up diplomatic efforts to help resolve Qatar's crisis with its Arab neighbors, which risks implications for America's military presence in the Middle East and the fight against the Islamic State group. The U.S. is also concerned that the spat among Arab governments could hamper a shared interest in blunting Iranian assertiveness in the region.

President Donald Trump spoke with Qatar's leader to affirm the importance of ending the festering, three-month-old dispute between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, the White House said Friday.

Trump's call to Qatar's Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Thursday came after he met the emir of Kuwait, whom he thanked for his vigorous yet thus far unsuccessful mediation. Trump reasserted his demand for all countries to stop funding extremist groups. He previously has described how Arab leaders criticized Qatar for such terror financing during a regional summit in Saudi Arabia earlier this year.

Trump "underscored the importance of all countries following through on commitments from the Riyadh Summit to maintain unity while defeating terrorism, cutting off funding for terrorist groups and combatting extremist ideology," the White House said in a statement. The leaders "also discussed the continued threat Iran poses to regional stability."

The row has split key U.S. counter terrorism partners and undermined the cohesion of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a traditional bulwark of U.S.-led efforts to contain Iran's influence.

The White House released its readout of the call after Qatar's ambassador to the U.S. said the country would donate $30 million to help Texans recover from Harvey.

On Friday, talks about Qatar continued as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met senior Kuwaiti officials at the State Department to discuss regional security and Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah's mediation bid.

"We support his efforts to help bring about a settlement," Tillerson said of the Kuwaiti leader. "The United States and Kuwait both recognize the important of GCC unity to meet the challenges of the region that we all face together, not the least of which is the threats from Iran."

Trump, too, on Thursday offered support. He applauded Kuwait's "critical contributions to regional stability" and repeated an offer to mediate himself, particularly between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Trump suggested a deal would be "worked out very quickly" if he became personally involved.

But Trump has sent conflicting signals about where he stands on the dispute. He initially appeared to side with Saudi Arabia. Then, he instructed Tillerson to support Kuwait's mediation, shuttling between the parties in July. As the dispute has dragged on, the administration has dispatched other U.S. envoys to bolster the 88-year-old Kuwaiti emir's initiative.

At a joint news conference with Trump on Thursday, Sheikh Sabah said he remained hopeful a resolution could be reached. He noted Qatar had been presented with a list of 13 demands by the other countries and was willing to discuss them. Although Qatar has rejected some of them out of hand, Sheikh Sabah said negotiations were possible.

But underscoring the impasse, the quartet of Arab nations boycotting Doha issued a strongly worded statement early Friday morning dismissing some of the emir's comments. "Any dialogue on meeting their demands should not be preceded by any prior conditions," they said in a statement that was an unusual, personal rebuke in the clubby world of Gulf Arab states.

The crisis erupted June 5 when Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut ties to Qatar over allegations it funds extremists and is too cozy with Iran. Qatar hosts a U.S. military base critical to the anti-IS fight in Iraq and Syria. It denies funding extremists. It recently restored full diplomatic ties to Iran, with which it shares a massive offshore natural gas field that makes its citizens among the world's wealthiest.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Saudi Arabian, Emirati, and Qatari leaders emphasizing that unity among Arab partners is essential for regional stability and for countering Iran's threat.