Qatar's emir meets US delegation amid Gulf crisis

By Ahmed Al-Masri and Mohamed Abdul Ghaffar

DOHA

Qatar's emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani met Wednesday with a visiting U.S. delegation in the capital Doha.

The delegation includes U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Arabian Gulf Affairs Tim Lenderking and retired general Anthony Zinni, according to the pan-Arab Al Jazeera television.

The visit comes amid a diplomatic crisis between Qatar and four Arab states – Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The four countries accuse Qatar of meddling in their affairs and supporting terrorism, a claim denied by Doha.

The four cut diplomatic ties with Doha, imposed a sea, land and air blockade and presented a set of demands for Doha or face further sanctions.

Qatar, for its part, contends that the blockade is in violation of international law.

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he would dispatch the delegation to the Gulf to help resolve the conflict.

"I am going to dispatch Tim back to the area… and I have also asked Zinni to be with Tim so that we can maintain a constant pressure on the ground … We are committed to see this disagreement resolved, restore Gulf unity, because we think it is important to the long-term effort to defeat terrorism in the region," he said.

On Monday, the U.S. delegation visited Kuwait, which has been mediating to resolve the conflict.