TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has called for "dialogue" to resolve the current dispute between Qatar and four other Arab states and reiterated London's support for Kuwait's mediation efforts to end the rift.
Johnson made the call during a meeting with Kuwait's foreign minister in the Kuwaiti capital on Saturday, according to its state news agency KUNA.
Read: Arab States Angry over Qatar Dismissal of Their Demands
"My impression is that progress can be made ... But I am not going to pretend that it is going to be overnight," Johnson said after the meeting.
The two disputing sides have not met yet, but "let's keep our fingers crossed, let's keep working for common sense and for deescalation on both sides", he added.
"There's no possibility of a military escalation," he said.
"We are working, supporting our Kuwaiti friends to get an understanding of how to take forward a wider fight against the financing of terrorism not just by Qatar, but by all our friends in the region."
Later on Saturday, Johnson travelled to Doha where he held a meeting with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the country's senior officials.
Read: Saudi Arabia says No Negotiations over Qatar Demands
According to Qatar's state news agency, they discussed the Gulf crisis as well as ways to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation between Doha and London.
Johnson's talks in Kuwait and Qatar came a day after he held meetings on Friday with officials from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - two leading actors in the dispute.
ANTARA | AL JAZEERA
