Retired US General Resigns as Trump Envoy to Resolve Qatar Dispute - Reports
01:14 09.01.2019(updated 01:17 09.01.2019)
WASHINGTON, January 8 (Sputnik) – Retired Marine General Anthony Zinni, President Donald Trump's handpicked envoy to try and resolve disputes between Qatar and a Saudi-led coalition of other Persian Gulf and Arab states has resigned, US media reports said on Tuesday.
Zinni resigned from his post at the Department of State on Monday because he was unable to achieve a successful resolution of the issues as regional leaders rejected a proposed US-led mediation effort, he told CBS News.
A Saudi led-coalition of other Middle East countries issued a trade blockade against Qatar in 2017 over accusations that it supported terrorism, sparking a diplomatic crisis. Qatar firmly denies the allegations.
A senior State Department official described Zinni's departure as a soft resignation, The Hill newspaper reported.
Zinni's resignation comes only a few weeks after General James Mattis resigned as secretary of defence in late December following Trump's decision to withdraw US military forces from Syria.
© Sputnik
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
