WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday congratulated Saudi Arabia’s newly-appointed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with whom he discussed the thorny diplomatic row between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors, including Riyadh.

“The president and the crown prince committed to close cooperation to advance our shared goals of security, stability, and prosperity across the Middle East and beyond,” the White House said in a statement about their telephone talks.

“The two leaders discussed the priority of cutting off all support for terrorists and extremists, as well as how to resolve the ongoing dispute with Qatar,” the statement added.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has been tasked by Trump to oversee an end to the crisis, has been working the phones in recent days trying to defuse a standoff that has put key US allies at loggerheads with one another.

Tillerson said on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia and its allies had prepared a list of demands to be presented to Qatar.

“We hope the list of demands will soon be presented to Qatar and will be reasonable and actionable,” Tillerson said in a statement. “We support the Kuwaiti mediation effort.”

Meanwhile, Kuwait’s ruler congratulated Saudi Arabia’s King Salman for choosing Mohammed bin Salman as his new crown prince, state news agency KUNA said on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2017