Mike
Pompeo to Saudi Arabia: 'Gulf unity is necessary'
Mike
Pompeo calls for unity in the Gulf during a visit to Saudi Arabia,
his first in his new role as top US diplomat.
29
April, 2018
US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called for unity in the Gulf
region during a visit to Saudi Arabia, his first foreign trip in his
new role as the US' top diplomat.
Speaking
at a joint press conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel
al-Jubeir on Sunday, Pompeo said, "Gulf unity is necessary and
we need to achieve it."
Saudi
Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt, cut
diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Qatar nearly one year ago,
accusing the country of supporting "terrorism". Doha
strongly denies the charge.
In
advance of Pompeo's visit, US officials told reporters the US
secretary of state would urge Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir,
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and King Salman to resolve the Gulf
crisis in a series of meetings on Saturday and Sunday.
US
President Donald Trump initially appeared supportive of the Saudi-led
initiative, while Pompeo's predecessor, the recently removed Rex
Tillerson, blamed Saudi Arabia and its allies for the stalemate in
resolving the crisis.
Officials
said Pompeo called for an end to the blockade because the US believes
it has enabled Iran to exploit disunity in the Gulf by enhancing its
influence in Yemen and Syria, The Associated Press news agency
reported.
Iran
missiles
Speaking
at the press conference, Jubeir called the meeting "fruitful".
He said the US and Saudi Arabia had "identical viewpoints"
on regional "challenges", including Iran's behaviour in the
region.
He
called for extra inspections of Iranian nuclear sites and imposing
new sanctions on the country for "violating international law".
Pompeo
arrived in Riyadh on the heels of a missile attack by Houthi rebels
that killed one person in Jizan, southern Saudi Arabia, on Saturday.
Senior US officials said they blame Iran for smuggling the missiles
into Yemen.
Speaking
on the condition of anonymity, US officials told reporters the
administration is seeking to counter Iran's missile programme as part
of a strengthened Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Trump
has previously said he will withdraw the US from the JCPOA - which he
has called the "worst deal in history" - unless "a
better option" is presented to him by May 12, which is when the
US president faces a deadline to decide whether or not to renew the
agreement's prescribed sanctions relief for Iran.
Pompeo
on Sunday called Iran "the greatest sponsor of terrorism in the
world".
"Iran
destabilises this entire region. It supports proxy militias and
terrorist groups. It is an arms dealer to the Houthi rebels in Yemen
and Iran conducts cyber-hacking campaigns. It supports the murderous
Assad regime, as well," he said.
The
former CIA director was sworn in as the US top diplomat on Thursday
and flew to Brussels for a visit to NATO's headquarters on his first
full day on the job. On Saturday, he started a brief tour of the
Middle East.
Pompeo
will depart Saudi Arabia for Israel on Sunday for a meeting with
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and will visit Jordan afterwards
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.