In The United States, Contradictory Statements On Qatar

A Qatar Airways aircraft in Doha on June 5, 2017. Termination of air, sea and land connections with the emirate could have humanitarian consequences for the Qatari population.

The crisis around Qatar: the head of the Qatari diplomacy today meets his Russian counterpart in Moscow. The country seeks support after being banished from the region. Saudi Arabia and four other countries have severed diplomatic relations with Qatar accusing it of supporting terrorism.

In the United States, President Donald Trump reacted on Friday evening, 9 June, but his statements contradict the remarks of his Secretary of State.

"Unfortunately, the nation of Qatar has historically financed terrorism at a very high level," Dump Trump told a press conference in the White House, calling for an immediate halt to the funding. His remarks differed from those made by his secretary of state a little earlier.

Rex Tillerson tried to appease him by calling on Saudi Arabia and his allies to ease the blockade around Qatar. The halting of air, sea and land connections with the emirate could have humanitarian consequences for the Qatari population. This could also hamper the struggle against the Islamic state group, according to Rex Tillerson.

Strategic base

The United States has a strategic military base on Qatari soil, from which it can launch operations against the jihadists. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, and Yemen broke off diplomatic relations with Qatar on Monday, only 15 days after Donald Trump's visit to Ryad.

Qatar is suspected of supporting terrorism, but these are unfounded accusations for Doha. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain hailed on Saturday the appeal of Trump in Qatar to stop supporting terrorism but did not respond to the call of the US State Department which asked them to alleviate the pressure on Doha.