US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says some demands on Qatar by a group of Arab countries that have imposed a blockade against it “will be very difficult to meet”.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the top US diplomat added, however, that the list submitted by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt includes “significant areas which provide a basis for ongoing dialogue leading to a resolution”.
“A productive next step would be for each of the countries to sit together and continue this conversation,” said Tillerson, confirming that Qatar has begun the review of the demands issued by the Saudi-Emirati-led bloc of countries amid a major diplomatic crisis.
“We believe our allies and partners are stronger when they are working together towards one goal which we all agree is stopping terrorism and countering extremism,” Tillerson said.
He also called for a “lowering of rhetoric” to “help ease the tension” and said Washington is supporting a mediation effort by Kuwait.
10-day ultimatum
The Saudi-Emirati-led bloc of countries has reportedly given Qatar 10 days to comply with 13 demands to end the crisis, insisting, among others, that Doha shut down Al Jazeera, close a Turkish military base and scale down ties with Iran.
Qatari officials immediately dismissed the demands as neither reasonable or actionable.
“This list of demands confirms what Qatar has said from the beginning – the illegal blockade has nothing to do with combating terrorism, it is about limiting Qatar’s sovereignty, and outsourcing our foreign policy,” Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani, director of the Qatari government’s communications office, said in a statement on Friday.
Doha also said it is reviewing the demands and is preparing an official response after confirming the receipt of the document on Thursday.
Tillerson had previously insisted any demands be “reasonable and actionable”, while UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said any requests made of Qatar should be “measured and realistic”.
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