Amid Gulf crisis, US approves $1 billion Qatar arms deal

The United States government has approved a USD 1.1 billion deal to service Qatar's F-15 fighter jets despite the diplomatic stand-off between the Gulf emirate and its neighbours.

Qatar, home to one of the largest US military bases in the Middle East, is locked in a bitter dispute with Washington's other Arab allies in the region, led by Saudi Arabia.

US President Donald Trump took Riyadh's side in June when Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

But Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has taken a more cautious line, attempting to broker an agreement to cool ties and build a regional front against Iranian influence and extremism.

Yesterday, the State Department announced it had approved a USD 1.1 billion contract to service Qatar's F-15QA jets and build them ground facilities and hardened bunkers.

"Qatar is an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Persian Gulf region," the department said, in a note from its Defence Security Cooperation Agency.

"Our mutual defence interests anchor our relationship and the Qatar Emiri Air Force plays a predominant role in Qatar's defence."

The new maintenance and training facilities will also come with improved "cyber security services, mission critical computer resources, support services, force protection services."

Tillerson visited both Riyadh and the Qatari capital Doha last month in an effort to curb Iran's influence in the region and urge the Arab monarchies to negotiate away their differences.
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Gulf crisis: UAE denies airspace transit for Qatar aircraft

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday denied opening its sovereign airspace to transit registered aircraft in Qatar, the Emirati official WAM news agency reported.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation in the UAE confirmed in a statement that it "denied the opening of airspace to aircraft registered in Qatar," Xinhua reported.

"What has been allowed is the use of the airspace that lies above international waters and is managed by the UAE," the agency said in a statement.

The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain, known as the "Arab quartet" cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing them of supporting and financing terrorism.

They submitted a list of 13 requests, which the Kuwaiti mediator handed over to Qatar on June 22, in a move to resolve the existing diplomatic crisis.
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Gulf states being stubborn, UN should step in: Qatar amid diplomatic crisis

Qatar's foreign minister on Thursday accused Gulf neighbors and Egypt of "stubbornness" in their ongoing diplomatic dispute and said the United Nations should step in to help resolve the crisis.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York to discuss tensions after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut ties with Qatar on June 5.

The four countries accuse Qatar of backing extremism and have imposed sanctions against Doha in what the foreign minister said was a "serious violation of international law."

"There is a role for the Security Council and for the General Assembly and all the United Nations mechanisms, because of course the violations have continued," the foreign minister told reporters after his meeting with Guterres.

"We are seeing from the other side of the conflict this stubbornness without even taking any forthcoming step to solve this problem," he said.

Last month Al-Thani met with several Security Council members to lobby for support, but the council and Guterres have repeatedly stressed that a solution should be found among regional partners.

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