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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Qatar-Gulf crisis: The worst is behind us, says US

Progress has been made towards resolving the crisis between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours after senior US officials met leading players in the standoff, the State Department has said.

"I would characterise the mood and approach as hopeful, which believes that the worst is behind us," spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters on Tuesday.

Earlier, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, whose government accused Qatar of sponsoring extremist groups and had closed its border.

Tillerson and US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis have been working the telephones attempting to de-escalate the crisis between Riyadh and Qatar, which hosts a huge US airbase.

Nauert refused to say whether Washington regards Qatar as a sponsor of terror or whether the closure of the border and ban on Qatari flights in Saudi airspace amount to a "blockade."

"Let's keep in mind that everyone has agreed or these parties are working toward an agreement on combating terrorism, and that is the main focus," she said.

"And let's not get bogged down in all the details about who's calling what when. This is trending in a positive direction. And let's stay focused on that so that we can continue to fight the war on terror."

Earlier, appearing alongside Tillerson - who last week had urged that the "blockade" be eased - Jubeir had insisted: "It's not a blockade."
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