British FM calls for resolving Qatari crisis through dialogue

Visiting British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Saturday called on Qatar and its Arab neighbors to resolve a diplomatic crisis through dialogue.

Johnson, who is in a three-nation Gulf tour aimed at calming down the tensions in the Gulf, issued the call during a meeting with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, the official KUNA news agency reported.

Johnson arrived in Kuwait from Riyadh, the first leg of his Gulf tour which will also take him to Qatar.

The top British diplomat expressed anxiety at the crisis between Qatar and a Saudi Arabia-led alliance of Arab countries, saying the blockade imposed on Doha is "unwelcome" and the parties need to resolve it through dialogue.

Sheikh Sabah applauded Britain's support of Kuwait's efforts to resolve the Gulf crisis, KUNA reported. Kuwait, which has not joined the Saudi-led bloc in cutting diplomatic ties with Doha and imposing a blockade early last month, has been playing the role of mediator in the crisis.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt issued a list of 13 demands to Qatar later last month, including closing Al-Jazeera TV station, stoping financing and supporting terrorism, and downgrading its ties with Iran, as major preconditions for ending their boycott.

On Thursday, the four nations slammed Qatar's response, relayed by Kuwait, saying Doha's refusal to accept their demands was proof that the tiny rich Gulf nation is linked to terror groups.

They vowed to take further political, economic and legal steps to tighten the screws on Doha. They are scheduled to hold another foreign ministers' meeting, after the one held in Cairo, Egypt on Wednesday, in Bahrain soon to discuss the next steps.

In response, Qatar has dismissed as "baseless" the Saudi-led bloc's accusations that it supports terrorism and interferes in their internal affairs.

Johnson's visit came as part of a flurry of diplomatic activity by Western powers in attempt to calm down the tensions in the Gulf.

On Wednesday, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel concluded his three-nation tour to Qatar, UAE and Kuwait, in a bid to broker an end to the standoff.

Gabriel said there were sufficient possibilities to defuse the situation, while pressing for joint regional efforts against terror financing.

In another development, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is expected to visit Kuwait on Monday to discuss the ways to resolve the Qatari crisis.

The U.S. is increasingly concerned that the rift between Qatar and its Arab neighbors is at an impasse and could drag on for a long time, or even intensify, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.

Washington is worried that the ongoing standoff could damage its operations to strike terrorists in the Middle East as it has a huge military base in Qatar.

Source: Xinhua