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U.S. calls for resolving rift between Qatar, Gulf nations

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2017-06-07 10:25Xinhua Editor: Gu Liping ECNS App Download

The U.S. wants to see the diplomatic row between Qatar and the Gulf nations "deescalated and resolved immediately," the White House said Tuesday.

"The United States continues to be in close communication with all the parties to resolve the issues and restore cooperation which is so important to regional security there," White House spokesman Sean Spicer told a regular briefing.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt have cut off diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Libya, Yemen and the Maldives followed suit. Qatar has rejected the accusations, calling the accusations "unjustified" and "baseless."

The White House response on Tuesday came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump seemed to claim credit for Gulf nations' decision to isolate Qatar, saying that his recent visit to Saudi Arabia was "already paying off."

"They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" Trump said on Twitter.

In explaining Trump's tweet, Spicer said, "there is note that his message of toughness on terror finance and extremism is being heeded by countries in the region."

At the State Department, spokesperson Heather Nauert said the U.S. is grateful to Qatar for its "longstanding" support of U.S. presence there and Washington has "no plans to change our posture in Qatar."

Qatar is a key U.S. ally in the fight against the Islamic State group and the U.S. military base in the country is one of the largest in the Middle East.

Nauert added that the U.S. was only informed of the Saudi-led actions against Qatar immediately beforehand.

On Tuesday, the Pentagon commended Qatar for hosting U.S. forces and its "enduring commitment to regional security."

"There has been no impact on our operations either in Qatar or with regards to airspace permission around it and we don't anticipate there will be," U.S. Defense Department spokesman Jeff Davis said.

  

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