Unity first

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said yesterday that a rift between Qatar and its Arab Gulf neighbours had gone on for too long. “We are all more powerful when we are working together and disputes are limited. When we have a common challenge, disputes between countries with shared objectives are never helpful,” he said at a press conference in Qatar.

Pompeo also said that a united GCC is essential for the planned MESA alliance and that the US has agreed with Qatar on a widening presence in the Udaid military base. Pompeo visited Doha on Sunday and signed several agreements with Qatari officials. The US Secretary of State was welcomed in Riyadh on Sunday evening by the Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al Jubeir and the Saudi Ambassador to the US Prince Khalid bin Salman.