FILE PHOTO: Qatar Airways aircraft at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Getting the parties in the Qatar dispute to talk directly to one another would be an important next step in resolving the crisis, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ended three days of talks in Gulf Arab countries.

“Based on his meetings, the secretary believes that getting the parties to talk directly to one another would be an important next step,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters.

“We hope the parties will agree to do so and we will continue to support the emir of Kuwait in his mediation efforts.”

(This version of the stoty has been refiled to fix typographical error in first paragraph)