Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Inside Story: What Leverage Does the US Have in the Gulf Dispute?


The US secretary of state visited Qatar on the second stop of his Gulf tour. On Monday he was in Kuwait, which has been mediating the standoff between Qatar and its neighbours. The US hopes to negotiate a resolution to the diplomatic crisis which began over a month ago.

Rex Tillerson has been speaking to the emir of Qatar pushing for dialogue to solve the dispute. He says Qatar has been clear in its positions, describing them as “reasonable”.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut ties with Doha last month, accusing it of supporting “terrorism” - an allegation Qatar's government has strongly rejected. So, will Tillerson's shuttle diplomacy ease tensions in the region? | Presenter: Hazem Sika | Guests: Shafeeq Ghabra - Professor of Political Science at Kuwait University; Nasser Al Khalifa - Former Qatari Ambassador to the US and the United Nations; Andrew Bowen - Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.