Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday called on four Arab states to end an economic blockade of the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar. “We call on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt to ease the blockade against Qatar,” Tillerson said Friday afternoon at the State Department. “There are humanitarian consequences to this blockade. We are seeing shortages of food. Families are being forcibly separated. And children are being pulled out of school.”
Tillerson stressed that while the United States believed these were unintended consequences of the blockade, a resolution could be reached.
Those four nations cut diplomatic ties with Qatar earlier this week, ostensibly over the small emirate’s financing of terrorism. The subsequent economic sanctions drawn up by Saudi Arabia and the other nations against Qatar have helped isolate the nation. Tillerson noted its negative affects on U.S. interests.
“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,” he said. “The blockade is hindering U.S. military actions in the region and the campaign against ISIS.” The U.S. military has thousands of troops stationed in Qatar, which houses the forward headquarters of U.S. Central Command.
Tillerson’s statement comes after President Trump has been speaking with leaders in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, and Qatar this week. Tillerson informed Trump of what he intended to say Fridayafternoon, shortly before his public remarks. “What Tillerson said is consistent with what the president has been saying to Arab leaders,” says a source at the White House.
Qatar’s financing of terrorism has long been a concern of the United States, and it was the subject of discussion among President Trump and Arab allies during his visit last month to Riyadh. The normally recalcitrant Qatar signed onto an agreement to curb terror financing that was hailed by the White House as an important step forward. But Saudi Arabia and the other countries were prompted to break ties by the revelation that the Qataris had secretly paid an al-Qaeda affiliate and the Iranian security forces a $1 billion ransom.
