Trump says isolation of Qatar could be ‘beginning of end’ of terrorism

In a tweet, Trump suggested that the severing of relations with Qatar by Gulf states and Egypt was understandable

During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar – look!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

The US president said leaders of Middle East nations told him during a summit in Riyadh that they would adopt a hard line against the funding of extremism, and added that isolating Qatar could be the beginning of the end of terrorism. “Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism, Trump tweeted.

…extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

Trump met Qatar’s Emir during the president’s visit to Saudi Arabia last month.

Trump’s comments came as Kuwait’s ruler headed to Saudi Arabia in a bid to resolve the feud, the worst diplomatic crisis to hit the Arab world in years.

Saudi Arabia and allies including Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain announced on Monday they were severing diplomatic relations and closing air, sea and land links with Qatar.

Meanwhile, Qatar was reeling from the economic fallout of the decision of the Arab countries.

In its latest measure, Saudi Arabia revoked the licence of Qatar Airways, telling the airline to close down all offices.

“The General Authority of Civil Aviation has decided to cancel all licences granted to Qatar Airways and to close all of its offices in the kingdom within 48 hours,” a statement carried by the official SPA news agency said.

In Dubai, more than 500 people lined up at the Qatar Airways office in Deira asking for refunds or seeking alternative travel.

The immediate impact of measures taken by Gulf states against Qatar was seen on residents flocking to department stores to buy food and other items fearing shortages in the country. Qatar imports almost all of its food requirements.

Above-normal remittances were being sent from Qatar as uncertainty mounted.

There were also reports that Gulf Arab commercial banks had started holding off on business with Qatari banks.

The UAE said that Qatar would need to provide a “guaranteed roadmap” before it would consider mending ties. “We need a guaranteed roadmap to rebuild confidence after our covenants were broken,” UAE State Minister for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said on Twitter.

Gargash accused Doha of turning to “money and media and partisanship and extremism” in a series of tweets early on Tuesday.

His comments came after Qatar’s foreign minister said Doha was ready for mediation efforts adding that Qatar’s ruler had delayed a speech in order to give Kuwait a chance to ease regional tensions.

Qatar wants to give Kuwait’s Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, who arrivedon Tuesday in Jeddah, the ability to “proceed and communicate with the parties to the crisis and to try to contain the issue,” Shaikh Mohammad Bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said.

Source:http://m.gulfnews.com/news/gulf/qatar/trump-says-isolation-of-qatar-could-be-beginning-of-end-of-terrorism-1.2039544?utm_source=mobilesite&utm_medium=socialbar&utm_campaign=whatsapp