U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi have both called for the resolution of the diplomatic crisis between Qatar and its neighbours.
The U.S. Secretary of State on Friday said his country was satisfied with Qatar’s efforts to implement an agreement aimed at combating terror financing, and urged Arab states to lift a “land blockade” on the tiny Gulf nation. The U.S. signed an accord with Qatar on terrorism financing in a bid to douse the diplomatic logjam, but Qatar’s opponents said it fell short of addressing their concerns.
“They have been very aggressive in implementing that agreement, so I think we’re satisfied with the effort they’re putting forth,” Tillerson told reporters just before meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah at the State Department.
“I hope the four countries will consider as a sign of good faith lifting this land blockade which is really having the most, I think, negative effects on the Qatari people,” Tillerson said.
In a move to placate its aggrieved neighbours, Qatar has set rules for defining terrorism, freezing funding and terrorism financing and established national terrorism lists.
On his part, the Chinese Foreign Minister called on Qatar and four Arab nations to resolve their diplomatic crisis through talks within the Gulf Cooperation Council. He made this remark after meeting his Qatari counterpart in Beijing on Thursday, a day after he held talks with a top official from the United Arab Emirates, one of the nations at odds with Doha.
“All sides should continue restraint and conduct face-to-face talks as soon as possible, so as to avoid escalation of the situation, send out a positive signal in addressing the crisis through political and diplomatic means, and reassure the role of the GCC,” Wang was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
Wang said China supports Kuwait’s mediation in the dispute and stands ready to play a constructive role in promoting peace through talks if necessary.
The four states- Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and UAE- cut diplomatic, transport and commercial ties with Qatar on June 5, disrupting the import of food and other items and causing foreign banks to scale back business with Qatar. The Gulf crisis is the worst to hit the region since the establishment of the Gulf Cooperation Council in 1981.
