A US envoy tasked with trying to solve the dispute between Qatar and a Saudi-led group of countries announced his resignation Tuesday, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo toured the region. Retired general Anthony Zinni told US news network CBS he had quit "because of the unwillingness of the regional leaders to agree to a viable mediation effort that we offered to conduct".

His resignation was confirmed by State Department spokesman Robert Palladino. "General Zinni's mission was to help introduce the concept of the Middle East Strategic Alliance and start a conversation with leaders in the region," Palladino told AFP.

"This is happening and well underway thanks to his efforts. The administration... will carry the mission forward," Palladino said in Amman where he accompanied Pompeo on the first leg of his regional tour. The Middle East Strategic Alliance (MESA) is a NATO-style security pact which Zinni had been asked to introduce to regional leaders.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019