"The nation of Qatar unfortunately has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level," Trump said.
The UAE has welcomed Trump's statements about Qatar.
Published: Sat 10 Jun 2017, 6:49 AM
Updated: Sun 11 Jun 2017, 1:22 PM
Trump on Friday called on Qatar to stop funding terrorism.
"The nation of Qatar unfortunately has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level," Trump said in a joint press conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis at the While House.
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain severed ties with Qatar on Monday over fomenting instability in the region and supporting extremism.
"We had a decision to make, do we take the easy road or do we finally take a hard but necessary action? We have to stop the funding of terrorism. I decided, along with secretary of state Rex Tillerson, our great generals and military people, the time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding, they have to end that funding and its extremist ideology," Trump said.
The UAE has welcomed Trump's statements about Qatar. UAE Ambassador to the United States Yousef Al Otaiba stated:
"The UAE welcomes President Trump's leadership in challenging Qatar's troubling support for extremism. The next step is for Qatar to acknowledge these concerns and commit to reexamine its regional policies, this will provide the necessary basis for any discussions," Al Otaiba added.
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain on Friday put dozens of figures and entities with links to Qatar on terrorism blacklists.
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