Trump and Kuwaiti Emir Hint at End to Gulf Crisis

President Donald Trump and the Emir of Kuwait – one of two Gulf countries that has not cut ties with Qatar – said in a joint news conference at the White House on Thursday that the boycott of Qatar by its Arab neighbors will soon be resolved. Trump even announced he would be willing to “help mediate [the Qatar dispute]… and I think you would have a deal worked out very quickly.”  But neither leader gave clear reasons for their optimism.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt began their boycott against Qatar in June, accusing Qatar of supporting Sunni Islamic terrorism and Iran’s influence in the region. They initially gave Doha a list of 13 demands, including scaling back ties with Iran, shutting down the Al Jazeera network, and ending Turkey’s military presence in the country. But they have since reduced those demands to six principles, saying Qatar no longer needs to shut down Turkey’s military base, but it does need to agree to general principles on fighting terrorism and extremism.

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