Azernews.Az

By Kamila Aliyeva

The United States has reportedly prevented a military solution to the Gulf crisis erupted in June between Qatar and its Arab neighbors in which neither side wants to lose face.

President Donald Trump warned Saudi Arabia and the UAE over taking military action against Qatar, the world leader in the gas export, according to Bloomberg.

The Gulf allies are reported to have considered taking military action against their energy-rich neighbor in the early stages of their ongoing dispute with Doha, before Donald Trump called leaders of both countries and warned them to back off.

Trump stressed that any military action would trigger a crisis across the Middle East that would only benefit Iran, according to a source familiar with the U.S. president’s discussions.

Saudi Arabia has denied that military action was ever contemplated.

Trump met with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. The U.S. president answered negatively to the question whether he warned Saudi Arabia and the UAE against military action. At the same time, it is not known exactly when the question of the use of military force was discussed.

During this meeting Trump voiced the hope that the dispute between Qatar and its Arab neighbors would be resolved quickly.

The Gulf crisis erupted after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism. Qatar has vehemently denied the charges as baseless.

The Gulf standoff has opened new fault lines in a Middle East already roiled by wars in Syria and Yemen. Egypt and Bahrain joined the Saudi-led boycott, while Turkey and Iran provided supplies to Qatar as its import routes were closed.

The four Arab states boycotting Qatar said that sanctions would remain in place until Doha met their demands and that they would keep a close eye on the tiny Gulf monarchy’s efforts to fight terrorism funding. The standoff has yet to be resolved, despite efforts by Kuwait to mediate.

At the UN, Qatar compared the blockade to terrorism and said that it amounted to a “betrayal” by the Saudis.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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