US warns Qatar crisis at impasse; Tillerson to visit Kuwait

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is being drawn further into the crisis engulfing Qatar and many of its Gulf Arab neighbours, a diplomatic tussle that it wanted to avoid.

Despite numerous U.S. appeals for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to resolve their issues with Qatar on their own, the State Department said Thursday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would visit the region next week in a bid to mediate a solution.

Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Tillerson would visit Kuwait, which has been trying to broker an agreement, on Monday after stops in Ukraine and Turkey. She said Tillerson would meet with Kuwaiti officials, but his presence in the region leaves open the possibility that he may try to shuttle between the neighbouring countries to forge a resolution.

The four nations cut off diplomatic ties to Qatar a month ago, accusing the tiny nation of funding terrorism and spreading unrest. Qatar has refused to comply in whole with a list of demands from its neighbours.