简体中文
US President Donald Trump’s deal-making is being put to the test as he wavers between positions in the Middle East diplomatic crisis over Qatar.
A group of Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia sought to isolate the rich emirate Qatar last week.
Trump has taken different positions over the course of the past few days.
He criticized Qatar harshly for alleged terror funding, on one hand, and offered to mediate between the American ally and its Arab neighbors on the other. Qatar is home to two US military bases.
“We had a decision to make,” said Trump on Friday. “Do we take the easy road or do we finally make a hard but necessary action? We have to stop the funding of terrorism.”
Saudi Arabia, together with Bahrain, Egypt, and the UAE, said there would be no compromises with Qatar, standing firm on sanctions imposed last week.
Qatar’s foreign minister Mohammed Al Thani said the country would not buckle to pressure from other nations, particularly on the issue of the composition of its list of terrorists.
Some well-known charities from Qatar are in terrorist watch lists of countries like Saudi Arabia.
(CGTN)
