DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday called the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates to clarify that he did not mean to imply in his remarks last week that the Gulf ally was supporting Al Qaeda fighters in Syria.
Biden spoke with Prince Mohamed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and a key Emirati leader, the White House said.
It was the second time in two days that Biden had to call a key partner in President Obama’s coalition to walk back comments he made in Massachusetts on Thursday, when he said US allies — including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE — funded and armed extremist groups linked to Al Qaeda.
Earlier Sunday, an exasperated UAE requested ‘‘a formal clarification’’ from Biden on comments that America’s allies in the Middle East sent weapons and cash to extremists fighting in Syria.
Biden’s comments on Thursday came during a question-and-answer session at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge.
Biden said that ‘‘our biggest problem is our allies’’ who are engaged in a proxy Sunni-Shi’ite war against Syrian President Bashar Assad.
On Saturday, Biden already called to apologize to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the White House said.
‘‘The vice president apologized for any implication that Turkey or other allies and partners in the region had intentionally supplied or facilitated the growth of ISIL or other violent extremists in Syria,’’ the White House said, using an acronym for the Islamic State.
The UAE’s official news agency carried a statement from Anwar Gargash, the minister of state for foreign affairs, calling Biden’s comments ‘‘far from the truth.’’
The White House said Biden clarified his remarks and recognized the UAE’s strong steps to counter extremists. The UAE is a key partner in the US-led coalition against the Islamic State and has targeted its fighters in airstrikes in Syria. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Jordan have carried out airstrikes against the group in Iraq and Syria.