U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Tuesday, with the two leaders discussing “the important strategic partnership between the United States and Qatar,” according to a U.S. readout.
Rubio and Al Thani spoke about “close security and economic cooperation and shared efforts to address regional challenges in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria” and “reiterated both countries’ support for greater security and stability in the Middle East.”
Rubio also “expressed gratitude for Qatar’s efforts in securing the release of American citizens from Afghanistan.”
Christopher Landau, U.S. deputy secretary of state, also met with Qatari Minister of State Mohammed Al Khulaifi on Tuesday. The two discussed U.S. President Donald Trump’s upcoming trip to Qatar and “the importance of building our strong economic and commercial relationship,” the State Department said.
The White House announced this week that Trump will travel to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from May 13 to 16.
The State Department added that Landau and Al Khulaifi talked about “Qatar’s continued engagement with the Syrian interim authorities to provide stability and assistance to the Syrian people.”
The Qatari government is “working with” the United States to lift sanctions on the Syrian government to facilitate efforts to rebuild the country, Al Thani told Al Jazeera after meeting with Rubio.
Some U.S. sanctions on the regime of the since-deposed President Bashar Assad remain in place, while others apply to Syria’s ruling faction, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, which Washington still designates a terror organization.
Landau also thanked Al Khulaifi for Qatar’s “role in attempting to mediate conflicts in Africa and other parts of the world.” Per the U.S. readout, there was no mention of Gaza, where Qatar’s role as a mediator has been controversial due to its patronage of the Hamas terror group.
