Trump discusses Gulf crisis with Qatari Emir

By Gulsen Topcu

DOHA, Qatar (AA) - The U.S. President Donald Trump and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani spoke over the phone about the Gulf crisis, Friday.

Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told Al Jazeera television the two leaders discussed the meeting between Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber Al Sabah and Trump.

Earlier Trump and Kuwaiti Emir held a press conference and Trump said: "While I do appreciate and respect the mediation, I would be willing to be the mediator."

Qatari Foreign Minister said that the U.S. president called all sides for dialogue to solve the ongoing inter-Arab diplomatic crisis.

He added that the solution could be achieved by mutual obligation rather than giving orders from one side to the other.

The inter-Arab diplomatic crisis began on June 5, when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain collectively severed diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism in the region.

Doha denies the allegations, describing attempts to diplomatically isolate it as a violation of international law and its national sovereignty.

Kuwait has played a central role in attempting to resolve the crisis, dispatching a number of high-level emissaries to relay messages between Qatar and the states aligned against it.

The Saudi-led bloc has presented Qatar with a list of 13 demands that its says Doha must satisfy in order for relations to return to normal.

In a call with Saudi Arabia's King Salman last week, Trump urged all parties to find a solution to the crisis.

Shortly after the crisis broke out in June, Trump pointed the finger to Qatar for financing terrorism, publicly backing Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations in their effort to isolate the country.