Tillerson in Saudi Arabia to discuss Gulf states' rift with Qatar

This is his second visit to the region in recent months as he seeks a breakthrough in a diplomatic crisis gripping the region.

Saudi Arabia leads Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Egypt in the decision to sever ties with Qatar in mid of this year over allegations of the terrorism support by the later.

Qatar has denied such accusations. The US official toured the region in July and failed to convince those countries to set for a talk to end their disputes.

Besides Qatar, Tillerson is expected to review regional issues in Yemen and counterterrorism efforts, according to a statement by the US State Department.

The US official will also attend the first meeting of Saudi-Iraqi coordination meeting in Riyadh, held as part of Saudi's approach to improve ties with the country to counter Iran power in Iraq.

On June 5, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed a land, air and sea blockade on their Gulf neighbour, accusing it of financing "terrorism" and maintaining too close of ties to their regional rival, Iran. Doha denies the allegations.

On June 22, the group issued a 13-point list of demands, including the shutdown of Al Jazeera, limiting ties with Iran, and expelling Turkish troops stationed in the country as a prerequisite to lifting the blockade.

Doha rejected all the demands, denouncing them as an attempt to infringe on Qatar's sovereignty.

The sides have been at an impasse for more than four months, despite efforts by Kuwait and top US officials - including Tillerson, who visited the region again back in July - to mediate the crisis.

"It's up to the leadership of the quartet when they want to engage with Qatar because Qatar has been very clear - they're ready to engage," said Tillerson, who will visit Saudi Arabia on Friday, before heading to Qatar. "Our role is to try to ensure lines of communication are as open as we can help them be, that messages not be misunderstood," he added. "We're ready to play any role we can to bring them together, but at this point, it really is now up to the leadership of those countries." Al Jazeera's reporter said Tillerson's comments marked "a distinct change of tone".