(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Agencies
The UN and Russia are set to begin separate tours of the Gulf in an effort to end the deadlock in the diplomatic row between Qatar and the blockading countries led by Saudi Arabia. Delegations will tour the region as the blockade enters its third month.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will begin his tour today followed by the Russians, who will send their team tomorrow for a three day visit.
The trip was announced by Guterres's spokesman Stephane Dujarric at a press conference in New York yesterday. Dujarric said that Kuwait would be the first leg of the UN chief's visit to the region, where he will meet the Emir and other senior officials tomorrow to discuss the situation in the region.
The Secretary-General's visit follows multiple efforts to end the blockade against Qatar. The US State Department is said to be 'very concerned about the continuation of the crisis, having itself failed to break the deadlock.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a news conference that the crisis has gone on for too long, stressing the need to reduce the rhetoric between the parties. Earlier this month Saudi state TV sparked outrage by suggesting that a Qatari passenger jet could be shot down by a missile if it enters Saudi airspace.
While it's not yet clear what impact Guterres will have in uniting the parties, his visit comes on the back of what appears to be failed American attempts to exert pressure on the blockading countries to end their siege on their neighbour.
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