(MENAFN) On his first foreign trip as the US's top diplomat, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it was essential for Gulf Arab monarchies to achieve unity, in an apparent attempt to resolve the diplomatic crisis between Qatar and a Saudi-led coalition.
Pompeo said he "stressed the importance" of Gulf unity in talks with Saudi officials.
In early June, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain severed diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the Middle East, while Qatar denied the accusations, describing attempts to diplomatically isolate it as a violation of international law and its national sovereignty.
While President Donald Trump initially sided with the Saudi-led action, he and other U.S. officials later said the crisis was distracting members of the Gulf Cooperation Council from confronting regional rival Iran.
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