Qatar skyline as visible from Museum of Islamic Art. Image: Qassim Rahmatullah / The Peninsula
Washington: Qatar, Saudi, and Emirati leaders will meet with US President Donald Trump in the next couple of months, US officials said, amid efforts by Washington to try to resolve a dispute between the Gulf neighbors.
Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates are all planning to have bilateral visits with Trump in March and April, a senior US official said.
The agenda will include setting up a Gulf Cooperation Council summit, the official said, which Washington hopes will be held later this year, as well as Middle East peace and Iran.
The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Egypt, imposed a blockade on Qatar last June.
Washington is hoping to lay the groundwork for a summit by the summer. "We would hope the dispute is resolved before the summit to allow maximum focus on other strategic concerns like Iran," another US official said.
Qatar is host to U.S. and international forces at Al Udeid Air Base, which is home to the Combined Air Operations Center. The center coordinates an array of data and intelligence from satellites, drones, radar and U.S. planes flying over hot spots in the Middle East and bombing Islamic State positions.
