US's Tillerson To Meet Diplomats Of Nations Boycotting Qatar In Jeddah

Foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt will meet with Tillerson on Wednesday in the Saudi Arabian coastal city.

The meeting will "explore their feelings and explore options of how we might move this forward. I would not comment on any expectations for a timetable now because these are discussions that are still ongoing," Tillerson told reporters in Doha.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry said the Jeddah meeting "will assert the position of the four countries and the measures they took against Qatar".

"The meeting is in line with the four countries' keen interest in enhancing coordination and underscoring solidarity on ways to deal with Qatar in the future," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said.

Tillerson landed in the Qatari capital Doha earlier Tuesday, as part of a regional tour to discuss the Gulf dispute, which began in June when the four Arab coutnries cut diplomatic ties and transportation links with Qatar.

He began the tour on Monday in Kuwait, which has been mediating in the crisis.

He said he held "a good trilateral exchange around the conflict" with Qatari and Kuwaiti diplomats.

During his visit, the US and Qatar signed an agreement Tuesday aimed at boosting efforts to combat terrorism.

"The US and Qatar will do more to track down funding sources, will do more to collaborate and share information and do more to keep the region and our homeland safe," Tillerson said.

Tillerson denied the agreement is connected to the current diplomatic crisis in the Gulf, saying it comes after more than a year of discussions.

Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani echoed Tillerson, saying: "It has nothing related directly or indirectly to the recent crisis and the blockade imposed against Qatar."

The US official's talks come after similar efforts by British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel last week.

On June 5, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties and transportation links with Qatar. The Arab quartet threatened to impose further sanctions on Qatar after a list of 13 demands was rejected by Doha.

The demands included downgrading ties with Iran, a regional rival of Saudi Arabia; the cessation of support for Islamist groups; and the closure of Doha-based broadcaster Al Jazeera.

They also placed 59 figures and 12 groups with alleged links to Qatar on terrorism lists.

Qatar, an energy-rich country of around 2.5 million people, has described the demands as "unrealistic".

The deadline given to Doha ran out on July 4 and the countries said they will respond in a "timely manner", without further details.

The four Arab states leading the boycott issued a statement late Tuesday that their sanctions on Qatar will remain and that it will keep monitoring Qatar seriousness in fighting terrorism.

This is not the first time the Gulf countries have fallen out with their small neighbour.

In 2014, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain temporarily withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar, accusing it of breaching a regional security pact.

That dispute was resolved with Kuwait's mediation.