U.S. President Donald Trump (L) waits to welcome visiting Kuwaiti Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on Sept. 7, 2017. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would be willing to mediate an ongoing dispute between Qatar and other Middle East countries.
"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," said Trump here during his joint press conference with visiting Kuwaiti Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
On June 5, the Saudi-led quartet severed diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed a blockade on the rich tiny Gulf nation, citing Doha's support for terrorism and extremism, interference in their internal affairs, and seeking closer ties with Iran. Qatar has strongly denied these charges.
Tensions were renewed last month when Qatar announced it would send back its ambassador to Iran, a rival for most Gulf nations.
Qatar recalled its envoy in Tehran in early 2016 in a show of solidarity with Saudi Arabia after the attacks on two Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran.
Despite a flurry of diplomatic mediation efforts made by the United States, the European Union, and Kuwait in the past months, the Gulf standoff has shown no signs of abating.
