Qatar's foreign minister said Tuesday that Kuwait had asked Qatar's ruling emir to postpone a speech and allow more time to resolve the crisis that erupted when Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Maldives all cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.
The series of announcements accused Qatar of supporting terrorism, which it has denied.
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said in an interview with Al Jazeera that Kuwait was instrumental in resolving a similar crisis three years ago with other members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.
Kuwait's state-run KUNA news agency said the emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, urged Qatar's ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to "exercise self-restraint and refrain from steps that would escalate the situation."
Sheikh Mohammed told Al Jazeera his country "had no indication that the crisis was about to erupt" and that the issues could have been discussed at either a GCC meeting or the Arab-Islamic American Summit last month.
He reiterated Qatar's defiant tone, saying the country rejected those "trying to impose their will on Qatar or intervene in its internal affairs."
The Foreign Affairs Ministry said Monday the measures are "unjustified and are based on baseless and unfounded allegations."
US urges dialogue
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reiterated Tuesday that the United States is hopeful the countries involved can use dialogue to resolve the differences that led to the crisis.
He said he knows the Qatari leadership from his time leading oil giant ExxonMobil, and referenced President Donald Trump's speech at the Arab-Islamic summit urging all nations in the region to confront terrorism.
"I think every country in the region has their own obligations they need to live up to, and they have their own challenges to live up to that commitment to terminate support for terrorism, extremism, however it manifests itself anywhere in the world," Tillerson said during a visit to New Zealand.
Ties cut
In addition to cutting diplomatic relations, the countries that acted Monday said they would withdraw their diplomatic staff from gas-rich Qatar and cut air and sea traffic to the country.Qatar Airways announced a suspension of flights to Saudi Arabia.
Egypt gave the Qatari ambassador 48 hours to leave Cairo, while the Persian Gulf states gave Qatari citizens 14 days to leave their countries.
Saudi Arabia, which leads a coalition of nations fighting in support of Yemen's government, also said Qatar's forces would be withdrawn from that fight.
The Saudi state-owned SPA news agency said Qatar "embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic State, and al-Qaida, and promotes the message and schemes of these groups through their media constantly."
"Qatar has been exposed to an instigation campaign based on allegations that amounted to absolute fabrications, which proves that there are premeditated intentions to cause damage to the state," Qatar's Foreign Ministry said.It further accused the nations involved of seeking to impose "guardianship" over Qatar.
The U.S. military's Central Command maintains a presence at the al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
Hints of Monday's six-nation split with Doha emerged last month when Qatar contended that hackers were behind the release of false remarks attributed to Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Qatari leader, that were published on the Qatar News Agency website.
The reports quoted him questioning U.S. hostility towards Iran, claiming "tensions" between Qatar and the United States and suggesting President Trump might not remain in power for long.
Qatar said it had been the victim of a "shameful cybercrime."Despite Doha's official denial, media outlets in several Gulf countries reported the emir's comments as fact.
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