US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has after a visit to Qatar disclosed that Saudi Arabia is not willing to resolve its conflict with Qatar.
Rex Tillerson and his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani after holding a joint news conference in Qatar’s capital, Doha, said that Saudi Arabia is not willing to enter discussions to resolve the crisis.
“In my meetings with [Saudi] Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, I asked him to please engage in dialogue, [but] there is not a strong indication that parties are ready to talk yet,” said Tillerson, referring to his earlier discussions in Riyadh.
“We cannot force talks upon people who are not ready to talk.”
Tillerson also met with the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and expressed concern about the effect of the crisis on the region’s stability.
“It’s very important for the Gulf Cooperation Council to continue to pursue unity, a bloc that includes Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman as its members.” He said.
“It is most effective when it is unified and none of us can afford to let this dispute linger,” he added, renewing a call for dialogue to resolve the dispute.
“We ask that everyone minimises the rhetoric and de-escalate the tensions and take steps to do so.”
