The US and Qatar signed a memorandum of understanding that outlines future efforts Qatar can take to “fortify its fight against terrorism and actively address terrorism funding issues,” a senior adviser to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced on Tuesday.
R.C. Hammond called the move “a hopeful step forward” in resolving the month-long diplomatic crisis in the Middle East.
Tillerson traveled to Doha on Tuesday in hopes of brokering a resolution in the dispute between Qatar and its Arab neighbors.
“I’m hopeful we can make some progress to bring this to a point of resolution,” Tillerson said during a joint news conference with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed al-Thani.
“I think Qatar has been quite clear in its positions and I think very reasonable and we want to talk now how do we take things forward and that’s my purpose in coming,” he said.
Tillerson will also travel to Saudi Arabia this week as part of his trip through the region. On Monday, he met with officials in Turkey — allied with Qatar in the dispute — and Kuwait, which is playing a mediator role.
He also met with Kuwait’s acting Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah as well as British National Security Adviser Mark Sedwill in Kuwait Monday. The three countries issued a joint statement expressing concern and calling for a rapid end to the crisis through dialogue, according to Kuwait state media.
According to Hammond, a State Department spokesman, the purpose of Tillerson’s trip was “to explore the art of the possible of where a resolution can be found,” and the US was “looking for areas of common ground where a resolution can stand.”
“We’ve had one round of exchanges and dialogue and didn’t advance the ball,” Hammond told reporters on Monday. “We will work with Kuwait and see if we can hash out a different strategy. … This is a two-way street. There are no clean hands.”
President Donald Trump also spoke last week to the leaders of Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
When the Gulf countries first cut ties with Qatar, however, Trump appeared to support the Gulf countries cutting ties with Qatar, saying that Doha had to stop funding terrorism. Trump’s comments came following his visit to Saudi Arabia on his first foreign trip as president, and contradicted his secretary of state.