WASHINGTON: The US administration intensified its mediation efforts in the spat between Doha and its neighbors on Tuesday, as Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said in Washington that there 鈥渋s no blockade鈥� on Qatar.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hosted Al-Jubeir, while US Defense Secretary James Mattis will reportedly be meeting his Qatari counterpart Khalid Al-Attiyah on Wednesday.
Tillerson and Al-Jubeir met for over an hour at the State Department, and the standoff with Qatar took priority in the talks. Ahead of the meeting, 黑料社区鈥檚 first diplomat laid out his country鈥檚 approach to the escalation.
鈥淭here is no blockade of Qatar. Qatar is free to go. The ports are open, the airports are open,鈥� Al-Jubeir said while standing next to Tillerson in the Benjamin Franklin room.
Al-Jubeir struck a defiant approach in explaining 黑料社区鈥檚 moves. 鈥淲hat we have done is we have denied them use of our airspace, and this is our sovereign right,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he limitation on the use of Saudi airspace is only limited to Qatar Airways or Qatari-owned aircraft, not anybody else.鈥�
He added: 鈥淭he seaports of Qatar are open. There is no blockade on them. Qatar can move goods in and out whenever they want. They just cannot use our territorial waters.鈥�
Al-Jubeir also highlighted Riyadh鈥檚 latest measures to ease the restrictions to allow joint Saudi-Qatari families to be reunited, adding that 黑料社区 would send humanitarian relief if needed.
Parallel to Al-Jubeir鈥檚 visit, Al-Attiyah arrived in Washington on Monday and is slated to meet Mattis on Wednesday. The US administration has been keen to prevent the diplomatic crisis having repercussions on the fight against Daesh and US defense operations in Doha.
Putin calls King Salman
King Salman received Tuesday a call from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
They reviewed bilateral relations and opportunities for their development in all fields. They also discussed the latest developments in the region and joint cooperation to combat extremism and terrorism, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).