Monday, June 19, 2017
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The European Union has thrown its weight behind Kuwaiti-led mediation efforts to help end the Gulf standoff over Qatar.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Monday that “we are ready to help, assist and accompany this mediation in all ways that might be requested.”
But she added, after chairing talks between EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, that the problem must be resolved within the region and not by outside powers.
She said Gulf countries have the “strengths and wisdom to find a political way out of this crisis.”
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar earlier this month and blocked air, sea and land traffic with the tiny Gulf nation over its support for Islamist groups and ties with Iran.