In call with Saudi king, Trump demanded quick end to Gulf rift - U.S. officials

[webfact]

In call with Saudi king, Trump demanded quick end to Gulf rift - U.S. officials

By Warren Strobel and John Walcott

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (R) attend the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 21, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a telephone call this month with Saudi Arabia's King Salman, President Donald Trump demanded that the kingdom and its Arab partners quickly end a nearly year-old dispute with Qatar that has left U.S. allies in the region fractured, according to two U.S. officials briefed on the conversation.

 

Trump wants the rift healed to restore unity among Arab Gulf states and present a united front against Iran, said the officials, who requested anonymity to discuss high-level diplomatic communications.

 

Trump's tone in the April 2 call with Salman was described by one official as "forceful." It was not clear what the king's response was.

 

Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut off travel and trade ties with Qatar last June, accusing it of backing their arch-rival, Iran, and supporting terrorism. Qatar denies the charges and says the boycott impinges on its sovereignty.

 

"The president’s focus has always been on Iran, and its nuclear and missile programs that threaten all the Gulf states, as well as Israel, and he stressed that the feud the Saudis and Emirates are having with Qatar makes no sense," the official said.

 

Trump's demand for swift action to end the rift represents a shift. Early in the crisis, he publicly sided with the Saudis and Emiratis, complicating then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's attempts to mediate.

 

Trump also discussed the dispute in a phone call last Friday with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, and in a White House meeting on Tuesday with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamid al-Thani, where he said his ties with Qatar were working "extremely well."

 

An administration spokeswoman would not expand on an earlier White House description of the call with the Saudi king. A spokeswoman for the Saudi embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

A second official knowledgeable about the call said Trump insisted that the rift within the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council be patched up within three weeks, in part because of a looming decision on Iran.

 

Trump has set a May 12 deadline for European powers to commit to improving the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, or he will pull Washington out of the deal.

 

Trump also faces a potential confrontation with Tehran in Syria, where he has accused President Bashar al-Assad's Iranian-backed government of using poison gas on his own people in an assault on Saturday. Trump appeared on Wednesday to threaten an imminent retaliatory missile strike in Syria.

 

It remains to be seen whether Trump's Gulf pressure campaign will work. Outwardly, there is little sign of a rapprochement between Qatar and its Gulf Arab neighbors.

 

A written White House readout of Trump's phone call with Salman said the president "emphasized the importance of resolving the Gulf dispute and restoring a united Gulf Cooperation Council to counter Iranian malign influence and defeat terrorists and extremists."

 

The readout did not recount Trump's tough tone or describe a U.S. deadline for resolving the dispute.

 

(Reporting by Warren Strobel and John Walcott; Editing by Alistair Bell and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-04-12

[bristolboy]

The creation of which rift Trump at first enthusiastically endorsed.

Edited April 12, 2018 by bristolboy

[geriatrickid]

He greenlights the USA and KSA and now pulls this crap because he has his own issues with Iran?? The man is seriously deluded if he thinks this would  get Qatar to stop acting as a conduit for Iranian financial support of Syria, Hizbollah and Hamas.

Qatar has been funding and enabling terrorists in the region for years and has its own agenda.

He's making a miscalculation if he thinks he can push around the arabs like this. Egypt suffers because of the Qatari support of  the Muslim brotherhood and of Hamas, so they won't be too thrilled.

The Iranians are going to slice and dice the USA.

[bristolboy]

9 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

He greenlights the USA and KSA and now pulls this crap because he has his own issues with Iran?? The man is seriously deluded if he thinks this would  get Qatar to stop acting as a conduit for Iranian financial support of Syria, Hizbollah and Hamas.

Qatar has been funding and enabling terrorists in the region for years and has its own agenda.

He's making a miscalculation if he thinks he can push around the arabs like this. Egypt suffers because of the Qatari support of  the Muslim brotherhood and of Hamas, so they won't be too thrilled.

The Iranians are going to slice and dice the USA.

Actually, the terrorists Qatar was funding was Islamist extremists in Syria. Where's the evidence that Qatar was a conduit for Iranian support  of Hizbollah?  Seems unlikely.  given Qatar's support of Sunni extremists in Syria, this makes no sense. As for Hamas, it gets support from all sorts of players. Again, where's the evidence that Qatar was the conduit for Iranian support.  Seems you've swallowed the propaganda of the Saudis and UAE. 

Egypt suffers because of its terrible governance including the increasingly brutal regime headed by Sisi.

 

[car720]

Question:  Why don't we just back off and let them slug it out?

Answer:     Oil.

 

With the onset of electric cars in the not too distant future then hopefully a lot of them will take their camels and go back to living in tents.

[quandow]

Like the Saudis are gonna listen to  temporary douche sitting in the oval office knowing full well he's gonna be gone sooner than later.

[bristolboy]

1 hour ago, quandow said:

Like the Saudis are gonna listen to  temporary douche sitting in the oval office knowing full well he's gonna be gone sooner than later.

Well, given that Trump has given the Saudis virtually everything they want from the US, I think that they might be inclined to indulge him. Or wait an hour for him to change his mind

[Morch]

4 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

He greenlights the USA and KSA and now pulls this crap because he has his own issues with Iran?? The man is seriously deluded if he thinks this would  get Qatar to stop acting as a conduit for Iranian financial support of Syria, Hizbollah and Hamas.

Qatar has been funding and enabling terrorists in the region for years and has its own agenda.

He's making a miscalculation if he thinks he can push around the arabs like this. Egypt suffers because of the Qatari support of  the Muslim brotherhood and of Hamas, so they won't be too thrilled.

The Iranians are going to slice and dice the USA.

 

Quote

Qatar to stop acting as a conduit for Iranian financial support of Syria, Hizbollah and Hamas.

To put it very mildly, doubt that's correct.

And Egypt "suffers" because a whole lot of reasons, pinning it all on Qatar's support of the MB is ridiculous.

[cantata]

3 hours ago, bristolboy said:

Well, given that Trump has given the Saudis virtually everything they want from the US, I think that they might be inclined to indulge him. Or wait an hour for him to change his mind

I don't think he's given the Saudis everything they want. According to several respectable news sources, there are reports that he stopped the Saudis from invading Qatar.

[Expatthailover]

How ironic.

The man who solves disputes by bullying and sacking asks others to make up and play nice.

You couldnt make up the absolute tosh this man spews out

[Srikcir]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

President Donald Trump demanded that the kingdom and its Arab partners quickly end a nearly year-old dispute with Qatar

Just buy $100 billion more military armaments from the US and Trump will be silenced. With Trump it's about business, not politics.

[Different]

Trump is stupid, I remember when Tillerson told him to zip it on Qatar, instead he opened his mouth blaming Qatar for supporting terrorism. Now he wants to change his mind, he reminds me of me when I am high on drugs confused on which decision I should make.

[Morch]

Coming on the heels of these reports, no less... For a TV personality and a politician, Trump's sense of timing does seem a bit off. Then there's calling the SA king in what's essentially a last minute thing, when things could have been raised (or perhaps even sorted), during the recent visit of the crown prince. 

 

 

Saudi Plans Military Base and Nuclear Dump Near Qatar

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-09/saudi-mulls-military-base-nuclear-dump-near-qatar-report-says

 

Saudi Arabia Eyes Up Canal Border Idea, Turning Qatar From A Peninsula Into An Island

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2018/04/06/saudi-canal-qatar-island/#6f0a0dea249e

 

Saudi Arabia mulls plans to turn Qatar into island by building canal along border and dumping nuclear waste there

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-qatar-latest-updates-military-base-nuclear-dump-oil-gas-uae-a8296026.html

[sammieuk1]

You know the end is coming after a bottle of cheap red you can still make better more useful decisions to solve problems than 99% of world leaders god help us its a kin mess.

[Andaman Al]

49 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

You know the end is coming after a bottle of cheap red you can still make better more useful decisions to solve problems than 99% of world leaders god help us its a kin mess.

Was it "Peter Vella"? very tasty for 399 Baht. Gonna buy 50 cases as part of the essential supplies for the forthcoming nuclear winter.

Edited April 12, 2018 by Andaman Al

[Andaman Al]

13 hours ago, quandow said:

Like the Saudis are gonna listen to  temporary douche sitting in the oval office knowing full well he's gonna be gone sooner than later.

I am not normally one to correct grammar but in this case it is essential as you have made a fatal error.  

 

One should not say:

Quote

Like the Saudis are gonna listen to  temporary douche sitting in the oval office

It should be

 

Quote

Like the Saudis are gonna listen to  douche,  temporarily sitting in the oval office

I am sure on reflection you will agree.

 

 

[Andaman Al]

It seems that Trump has now thrown Jared under the bus (as it was he that instigated the entire Qatar debacle). - Good, once the family turn on each other it's a fine sign.

[sammieuk1]

19 minutes ago, Andaman Al said:

Was it "Peter Vella"? very tasty for 399 Baht. Gonna buy 50 cases as part of the essential supplies for the forthcoming nuclear winter.

229 from Makro no idea of the name or origin did the job and a big Trump to follow. 

[Morch]

20 minutes ago, Andaman Al said:

It seems that Trump has now thrown Jared under the bus (as it was he that instigated the entire Qatar debacle). - Good, once the family turn on each other it's a fine sign.

 

Getting carried away, as usual. Kushner did not "instigate the entire Qatar debacle" - at most he facilitated it. Not like MbS & Co. were cool about Qatar prior to Kushner arriving on the scene. And not like the rivalry and bad blood are anything new. As for "throwing under the bus" - how so?

[BuaBS]

And not a word about the terrible war in Yemen ... which is a gulf state too.

That war is of course very profitable for the US .

[Morch]

9 minutes ago, BuaBS said:

And not a word about the terrible war in Yemen ... which is a gulf state too.

That war is of course very profitable for the US .

 

Yemen is not a "gulf state too". And I don't see you whining about countries you support being involved in profitable ME conflicts, or being two-faced about them.

[Andaman Al]

3 hours ago, Morch said:

Getting carried away, as usual. Kushner did not "instigate the entire Qatar debacle" - at most he facilitated it. Not like MbS & Co. were cool about Qatar prior to Kushner arriving on the scene. And not like the rivalry and bad blood are anything new. As for "throwing under the bus" - how so?

That is so disingenuous. A state of equilibrium existed with KSA and Qatar. Kushner was not given the 500M investment he thought he was getting from the Al Thani family, the rest is petty vindictive schoolboy business history. KUSHNER asked MBS to start the annexation of Qatar for no other reason than petty revenge, all the stuff about Qatar sponsoring terrorism was complete bolleux.

 

The US Military just happen to have their largest base in the ME in Qatar, are they in the habit of operating from closest allies territory who also just happen to be "sponsors of Iranian terrorism"? Did this idea Qatar was sponsoring terrorism just pop up overnight and take the USA with the best intel resources in the world by surprise? And if it didn't pop up over night,why were the US continuing to invest in huge infrastructure on its military base displaying a long term commitment to a genuine close ally? It is all BS. What part of that is not "instigating the entire debacle"? If you want to say I am 'getting carried away" and say "at most he facilitated it" well that is your perforative and at best nitpicking beyond belief.

 

Trump has made a clear statement that the move to annex Qatar that was instigated by Kushner was a bad decision. You can, "as Usual", package it as you choose.

Edited April 12, 2018 by Andaman Al

[Morch]

7 hours ago, Andaman Al said:

That is so disingenuous. A state of equilibrium existed with KSA and Qatar. Kushner was not given the 500M investment he thought he was getting from the Al Thani family, the rest is petty vindictive schoolboy business history. KUSHNER asked MBS to start the annexation of Qatar for no other reason than petty revenge, all the stuff about Qatar sponsoring terrorism was complete bolleux.

 

The US Military just happen to have their largest base in the ME in Qatar, are they in the habit of operating from closest allies territory who also just happen to be "sponsors of Iranian terrorism"? Did this idea Qatar was sponsoring terrorism just pop up overnight and take the USA with the best intel resources in the world by surprise? And if it didn't pop up over night,why were the US continuing to invest in huge infrastructure on its military base displaying a long term commitment to a genuine close ally? It is all BS. What part of that is not "instigating the entire debacle"? If you want to say I am 'getting carried away" and say "at most he facilitated it" well that is your perforative and at best nitpicking beyond belief.

 

Trump has made a clear statement that the move to annex Qatar that was instigated by Kushner was a bad decision. You can, "as Usual", package it as you choose.

 

Thanks for demonstrating the point about getting carried away once more. What you call "nitpicking" is, in this case, quite central to both your "argument" and to related developments.

 

I don't think that you can provide support for the assertion that "Kushner asked MbS to start the annexation of Qatar". He may have supported the notion, he may have facilitated it or implied the US was cool with it - whatever. There is a marked difference between that and your strong claim. Hence getting carried away.

 

As for the presumed "equilibrium" and its disruption, I'd say that the central figures in this were MbS and his mentor, rather than Kushner. That MbS & Co.'s interests resonated with Kushner's personal issues is quite possible. I just think you've got the causality backwards - not a small matter, nor "nitpicking".

 

There was nothing said (by me) on the subject of supposed "sponsoring terrorism". On previous related topics, I've made it clear that I see this charge as potentially misleading for those not familiar with what it implies in the context of the "equilibrium" or other regional unspoken understandings.

 

In the same way, not too clear what's your point bringing up them issue of Iran and/or the US military presence in Qatar - unless that was some lame spin attempt. Haven't made any comments on that which support the narrative suggested. Quite the opposite, on previous topics.

 

If Trump made any statement to the effect that Kushner instigated this, I must have missed it. Kushner is not even mentioned in the OP, though.

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎4‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 8:17 AM, car720 said:

Question:  Why don't we just back off and let them slug it out?

Answer:     Oil.

 

With the onset of electric cars in the not too distant future then hopefully a lot of them will take their camels and go back to living in tents.

Oh dear- think about how many vehicles in the world, most of which are owned by people that can't just go out and buy a new one. How many years to replace all the cars with electric ones, and even then, most will have to be hybrid at a minimum as insufficient infrastructure/ electrical generating capacity in many countries.

 

Also. Plastics are made from oil and a lot of things are made from plastic now. I think oil producing countries are not going to go broke any time soon.

[Morch]

20 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Oh dear- think about how many vehicles in the world, most of which are owned by people that can't just go out and buy a new one. How many years to replace all the cars with electric ones, and even then, most will have to be hybrid at a minimum as insufficient infrastructure/ electrical generating capacity in many countries.

 

Also. Plastics are made from oil and a lot of things are made from plastic now. I think oil producing countries are not going to go broke any time soon.

 

Not broke, but unless they diversify their industry, they probably couldn't keep up the same level of services and lifestyle citizens became accustomed to.

[bristolboy]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Oh dear- think about how many vehicles in the world, most of which are owned by people that can't just go out and buy a new one. How many years to replace all the cars with electric ones, and even then, most will have to be hybrid at a minimum as insufficient infrastructure/ electrical generating capacity in many countries.

 

Also. Plastics are made from oil and a lot of things are made from plastic now. I think oil producing countries are not going to go broke any time soon.

Except that oil prices are brittle. And even a small drop in demand can result in a huge drop in price.

[car720]

13 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Oh dear- think about how many vehicles in the world, most of which are owned by people that can't just go out and buy a new one. How many years to replace all the cars with electric ones, and even then, most will have to be hybrid at a minimum as insufficient infrastructure/ electrical generating capacity in many countries.

 

Also. Plastics are made from oil and a lot of things are made from plastic now. I think oil producing countries are not going to go broke any time soon.

Totally agree.  Common sense tells us this.  My observation is that many manufacturers of motor vehicles, volvo for example, are saying that from 2020 they will be moving away from non-electric car production.  Which I see as, hopefully, a major shift in direction for the future.  We cannot sustain was has been for long.

[KKr]

On 4/12/2018 at 9:55 PM, sammieuk1 said:

229 from Makro no idea of the name or origin did the job and a big Trump to follow. 

and gives a significantly lesser headache than following politics ;-)

[thaibeachlovers]

22 hours ago, Morch said:

 

Not broke, but unless they diversify their industry, they probably couldn't keep up the same level of services and lifestyle citizens became accustomed to.

That wasn't my point. I was just responding to someone that thought electric cars will reduce demand for oil in the short term.

 

[thaibeachlovers]

10 hours ago, car720 said:

Totally agree.  Common sense tells us this.  My observation is that many manufacturers of motor vehicles, volvo for example, are saying that from 2020 they will be moving away from non-electric car production.  Which I see as, hopefully, a major shift in direction for the future.  We cannot sustain was has been for long.

I have no problem with that. The shame of the western "leaders" is that they haven't "incentivised" manufacturers to move to fuel cell or some equivalent to phase out oil burning engines long ago. Fuel cell technology has been around since the 60s.

I was told when I was in school a very long time ago that oil would run out in 20 years, but nothing was ever done. Even when OPEC cut the supply in the 70s, and the politicians wobbled on about alternatives, they did nothing. Shame on them all.

 

BTW, there is no point in making all electric cars when the technology is not there to keep them charged away from home. Also, there isn't the generating capacity in most countries for an all electric car fleet.