Saudi Arabia Not Ready to End Arab Crisis

The US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that Saudi Arabia is not ready to talk to Doha to end the months-long diplomatic crisis. Tillerson made the remarks during his ongoing visit to Qatar, where he held a joint news conference with Qatar’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani, Xinhua reported. Qatar is committed to the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council system, al Thani said, adding that the country is also willing to push for a dialogue in resolving the dispute. Tillerson’s visit to Qatar followed a stop in Saudi Arabia, where he attempted to resolve the dispute. Commenting on his Saudi visit, Tillerson said Saudi Arabia is not ready to talk to Doha and his mediation bid received no positive response by Riyadh. “In my meetings with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, I asked him to please engage in dialogue, but there is not a strong indication that parties are ready to talk yet, “said Tillerson. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar on June 5.