US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Qatar on Sunday pushing for an end to a diplomatic rift between Washington’s Gulf allies on the latest leg of his Middle East tour.
The top US diplomat’s visit to the small, energy-rich Gulf state comes amid a more than 18-month-old dispute pitting Riyadh and its allies against Doha.
“It is time for old rivalries to end for the sake of the greater good of the region,” Pompeo said on Thursday in Cairo, where he laid out the Middle East strategy of US President Donald Trump’s administration.
The secretary of state travelled to Doha from Abu Dhabi, where he met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed on Saturday.
Pompeo is later expected to head to Riyadh, where all eyes will be on a possible meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The visit comes just three months after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in his country’s Istanbul consulate.
Source: AFP
