Qatar and the U.S. have signed a memorandum of understanding on curbing terrorism. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said might help resolve the worst diplomatic crisis to shake the Gulf Arab states in decades.
“I’m hopeful we can make some progress to bring this to a point of resolution,” Tillerson said during a joint news conference in Doha with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed al-Thani, CNN reads.
Tillerson traveled to the Middle East to try to resolve the stand-off between Qatar and other Persian Gulf nations, who have accused their oil-rich neighbor of supporting terrorism.
The dispute reflects long-standing Gulf frustration with Qatar’s independent foreign policy, including its support for Islamist groups and its ties to Iran, with which Qatar shares the world’s largest gas field.
The regional family feud threatens to undermine a central foreign policy goal of the Trump administration: all the Gulf countries involved in the dispute are members of the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS, with Qatar playing perhaps the most prominent role. It is home to the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East where flights against the terrorist group are coordinated.
“I think Qatar has been quite clear in its positions and I think very reasonable and we want to talk now (about) how do we take things forward,” Tillerson said.
“That’s my purpose in coming.” The top U.S. diplomat added that he was there as “a friend to the region.”
Work on the memorandum of understanding has been underway for as long as a year, Tillerson said. It lays out a series of steps the two countries will take over the coming months and years “to interrupt, disable terror financing flows and intensify counterrrorism activities globally,” he said.
The agreement includes milestones to ensure both countries are accountable to their commitments, CNN reports.
“Together, the U.S. and Qatar will do more to track down funding sources, collaborate and share information and do more to keep the region and our homeland safe,” Tillerson said.
He said he applauded Qatar’s emir for being “the first to respond to President Trump’s challenge” at a May summit in Saudi Arabia to stop the funding of terrorism.
News of the memorandum of understanding comes as Qatari officials are pushing back against the campaign led by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. The Gulf nations have been joined by Yemen, the Maldives and the government based in eastern Libya.
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