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Kuwait has tried to mediate a resumption of diplomatic and commercial ties between Qatar and several of its Arab neighbours, as United States President Donald Trump appeared to back those isolating the energy-rich nation over allegations it supports terror groups and Iran.
Key points:
- Russia says it is in favour of diplomacy as Mr Trump says his Middle East trip is paying off
- Iran offers to send Qatar food as supplies deplete following Saudi Arabia's land cutoff
- It marks one of the biggest diplomatic crises in the Gulf since the 1991 US war with Iraq
Qatar has long denied funding extremists, and its Foreign Minister struck a defiant tone in interviews following the fallout, even after worried residents emptied grocery stores in its capital, Doha.
"We are not a superpower here, we are not believing in solving things with confrontation," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said.
"We are willing to sit and talk."
Qatar relies heavily on food imports, especially those coming over its only land border with Saudi Arabia, which has joined with other key Arab powers in cutting off land, sea, and air routes into the country.
"On this scale, it's unprecedented," said Hatoon al-Fassi, a Saudi historian of Gulf Affairs and Women's Studies at Qatar University.
The incident — which pits several nations against Qatar, home to some 10,000 American troops and a major US military base — marks one of the biggest diplomatic crises in the Persian Gulf since the 1991 US-led war with Iraq .
While the US military has said it would not change its posture at Qatar's Al-Udeid Air Base, Mr Trump made a series of tweets calling into question his commitment to the peninsular nation.
"During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!" he tweeted.
He later tweeted: "Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!"
Mr Trump, who travelled to Saudi Arabia last month for a conference of Arab nations, had told Qatar's ruler at the time that "we've been friends now for a long time" — Qatari officials declined to comment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Qatar's emir Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad Al Thani, and reaffirmed Moscow's position "in favour of settling crisis situations by political and diplomatic means, through dialogue," the Kremlin said.
Meanwhile, an Iranian official told reporters that Tehran could export food to Qatar by sea within hours, as supermarket supplies quickly depleted after Saudi Arabia cut off the country's only land border in an unprecedented move.
Thousands of trucks carrying food were reported to have been stuck at the Saudi border, unable to make the sole overland frontier crossing into Qatar.
Following the fallout, Kuwaiti ruler Sheikh al-Sabah spoke with Qatar's emir on Monday evening and urged him to give a chance to efforts aimed at easing tensions.
Mr Sabah left Tuesday night for Saudi Arabia, where he has reportedly met with King Salman.
Jordan, Philippines join fallout; Qatar flights suspended
Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates were among those who joined Saudi Arabia on Monday in cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar.
Yemen's internationally backed government, which has lost the capital and large portions of the war-torn country, also cut relations with Qatar, as did the Maldives and one of conflict-ridden Libya's competing governments.
Late on Tuesday night, the Jordanian Government announced it was reducing its level of diplomatic representation in Qatar and cancelling the local registration for Al Jazeera TV.
At the same time, The Philippines announced it would temporarily suspend the deployment of Filipino workers to Qatar.
However, football's world governing body FIFA has said it remains in regular contact with Qatar, which is set to host the 2022 World Cup.
Saudi Arabia, the powerhouse among those cutting ties to Qatar, said it did so due to the country's "embrace of various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilising the region," including the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda, the Islamic State group and militants supported by Iran in the kingdom's restive Eastern Province.
Qatar long has denied funding extremists, although Western officials have accused it of allowing or even encouraging funding of Sunni extremists like Al Qaeda's branch in Syria, once known as the Nusra Front.
The Gulf countries ordered their citizens out of Qatar and gave Qataris abroad 14 days to return home and said they would eject Qatar's diplomats.
The nations also cut air and sea traffic with Qatar.
Qatar Airways, one of the region's major long-haul carriers, has suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain until further notice.
On its website, the carrier said the suspension of its flights took effect on Tuesday and customers were being offered a refund.
ABC/wires
Topics: world-politics, terrorism, foreign-affairs, qatar