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Agence France-Presse

A Saudi-led bloc of Arab states hostile to Qatar on Friday took aim at Kuwaiti mediation and maintained a tough line even after US President Donald Trump offered to help resolve the crisis.
Saudi Arabia as well as the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of bankrolling Islamist extremist groups and of being too close to Iran.
They also shut down air, maritime and land links and imposed economic sanctions on Qatar. The gas-rich emirate denies the claims and accuses the four countries of an attack on its sovereignty.
In Washington on Thursday, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, a key figure involved in trying to mediate an end to the dispute, met Trump and gave an upbeat assessment of his efforts so far.

At a joint news conference in Washington with the emir, Trump offered his own mediation in the three-month crisis, the worst to have gripped the Gulf region in decades.
“I would be willing to be the mediator,” Trump told reporters. “I would be willing to do so, and I think you’d have a deal worked out very quickly. I think it’s something that’s going to get solved fairly easily.”
But in a statement on Friday, the Saudi-led bloc showed no signs of backing down as it questioned the Kuwaiti emir’s statement that Qatar would be willing to accept their 13 demands.
I would be willing to be the mediator. I would be willing to do so, and I think you’d have a deal worked out very quickly
U.S. President Donald Trump
“Dialogue on the implementation of the demands should not be preceded by any conditions,” they said in the joint statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency.
The demands include shutting Doha-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera, closing a Turkish military base in the emirate and downgrading Qatari diplomatic ties with Iran.
The bloc also voiced “regret” about the Kuwaiti ruler’s statement “on the success of mediation in stopping military intervention”.
Instead, the four Arab states stressed in their joint statement that “the military option has not been and will not be considered” under any circumstances.
They also criticised Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani for comments he made after the meeting between Trump and the Kuwaiti emir.
In remarks aired on the Al-Jazeera television network, Sheikh Mohammed rejected the Saudi-led bloc’s 13 demands, saying they “attacked the sovereignty” of his country.
“Setting preconditions for dialogue confirms Qatar’s lack of seriousness in dialogue, combating and financing terrorism and interfering in the internal affairs of countries,” the bloc said in its statement.
The US has given mixed signals on its policy to the Gulf crisis while Kuwait has emerged as a key mediator.

Trump immediately expressed staunch support for Saudi Arabia after the Arab states announced sanctions against Qatar, but some other US officials including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson adopted a more measured tone.
Riyadh and Doha are both key allies of the US. Trump chose Saudi Arabia for his first overseas visit as president in May, two weeks before the Gulf crisis erupted.
Qatar is meanwhile home to a huge US airbase, where the headquarters of Centcom – the regional command which leads operations against Islamic State – is based.
Last month Qatari and US paratroopers held a joint training exercise which American officials said reinforced “the enduring military-to-military” partnership between the two countries.


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Saudi-led bloc maintains hard line against Qatar despite US President Donald Trump’s offer of mediation in Gulf crisis

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani . Photo: Xinhua

TOPSHOT - Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah (front L) and others wait while US President Donald Trump and US Vice President Mike Pence speak before a luncheon in the Cabinet Room of the White House on September 7, 2017 in Washington, DC. / AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski

Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, Kuwait's emir, speaks during a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump, not pictured, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. Kuwait has made progress in addressing improving the investment climate for U.S. companies but challenges remain in areas such as procurement access, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said yesterday at a Chamber of Commerce event. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Which side will China pick in Gulf row? Qatar matters, but so does Saudi Arabia

China’s President Xi Jinping (right) Pictured with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman during his visit to Beijing in March. Photo: Kyodo

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY CELINE SERRAT (FILES) This file photo taken on December 27, 2004 shows a general view of Ras Tannura's oil production plant near Dammam in Saudi Arabia's eastern province. Saudi Arabia, the second largest oil producer, has a lot to lose in the energy transition that must drive the future Paris agreement on climate, and finds himself accused of wanting to limit its scope to delay the twilight of black gold. / AFP / BILAL QABALAN

Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015. More than 2 million Muslims have begun the first rites of the annual hajj pilgrimage, which draws people from around the world to Mecca and areas around it to perform a series of rituals and prayers aimed at ultimately erasing past sins. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

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Riyadh and Doha are both key allies of the US – Trump chose Saudi Arabia for his first overseas visit as president in May, two weeks before the Gulf crisis erupted


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