WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
has decided to personally intervene in the Middle East diplomatic
crisis that threatens US counterterrorism efforts in the region,
a Washington Post report said.
Tillerson is heading for Kuwait which is trying to mediate
between Qatar and other members of the GCC to end the crisis
which US fears could drag on for months. President Trump last
week spoke with GCC leaders to defuse the tension and end
blockade of Qatar, where US has its largest military base in
the region.
The US top diplomat, according to a senior US official,
will meet leaders of the Gulf countries involved in the
crisis.
While there hasn’t been any serious threat to operations
at the US base in Qatar, a major US naval base in Bahrain,
or cooperation by other regional states necessary to its
central role in the conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan,
US feels that the dispute can divert the attention.
Secretary Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis have
called on all parties to resolve their differences.
