U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Saudi King Salman on Wednesday and urged “all the parties in the Qatar dispute” to find a diplomatic resolution to end the crisis, according to a White House statement.
According to a White House readout of the call, President Trump and King Salman “discussed the need to defeat terrorism, cut off terrorist funding, and combat extremist ideology. The President urged that all parties to the Qatar dispute find a diplomatic resolution that follows through on their commitments made at the Riyadh Summit, to maintain unity while fighting terrorism. The two leaders also addressed the threat Iran poses to the region.”
The call follows the declaration last week that Qatar would re-open an embassy in Tehran and resume diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia and U.S. rival Iran.
The readout also said the President and the King also “praised the resilience of the communities affected by Hurricane Harvey, and King Salman offered his condolences to the families who have lost loved ones.”
Last week, President Trump’s son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner met with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in an effort to restart peace talks in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but neither side said that the Qatar crisis was discussed in that meeting.
