Trump to meet Qatar leaders on way to Asia

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will meet Saturday with the emir and prime minister of Qatar — a key ally in preserving the fragile Gaza peace deal — during a refueling stop on his way to Asia, officials said.

The Qatari leaders will board Air Force One late in the day when it lands at Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts the regional headquarters for the US military and thousands of American troops, a White House official said.

Trump is traveling to Asia for the first time since retaking office in January, with two regional summits and a face-to-face meeting with China’s Xi Jinping and other leaders on the agenda.

In Qatar, the previously unannounced meeting will also be attended by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, fresh off a trip to Israel as part of an all-out diplomatic push by Washington to keep the Gaza truce on track.

Qatar has played a key mediating role in indirect talks between Israel and Hamas since the outbreak of the war, and is among the guarantors of the fragile peace deal, along with Egypt, the United States and Turkey.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani hosted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week to discuss the highly sensitive next steps in the deal, including the establishment of a security force in Gaza and the fate of Hamas.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has also been a key negotiator since the outbreak of the war following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.