Secretary of State Tillerson urged Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to ease their blockade against Qatar on June 9.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt severed relations with Qatar on Monday, June 5, accusing it of supporting Islamist terrorists and Iran.
“We ask that there be no further escalation by the parties in the region.We call on Qatar to be responsive to the concerns of its neighbors,” said Tillerson. “The emir of Qatar has made progress in halting financial support and expelling terrorist elements from his country, but he must do more, and he must do it more quickly.”
He said there are unintended humanitarian consequences of the blockade.
“We’re seeing shortages of food, families are being forcibly separated, and children are being pulled out of school. We believe these are unintended consequences, especially during this holy month of Ramadan, but they can be addressed immediately. The blockade is also impairing U.S. and other international business activities in the region. It has created a hardship on the people of Qatar, and the people whose livelihoods depend on commerce with Qatar,” Tillerson told reporters.
The rift is also affecting the U.S.-led fight against ISIS. More than 11,000 U.S. and coalition forces are at an airbase in Qatar. More than 100 aircraft operate from there.
Tillerson concluded that to combat terrorism in the region, there must be solidarity within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
“We know you’re stronger together,” he said. “The GCC must emerge united and stronger to show the world the GCC’s resolve in its fight against violence and terrorism, and its commitment to countering the threat from terrorism. Our expectation is that these countries will immediately take steps to de-escalate the situation, and put forth a good-faith effort to resolve their grievances they have with each other.”
