Trump welcomes Qatari Emir in from the cold

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump welcomed the Emir of Qatar to the White House on Tuesday, barely one year after alleging his government funded terrorism at a “high level.”

Drawing a line under a spat that called into question the future of a key US air base in the Gulf State, Trump hosted Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in the Oval Office.

“He’s a friend of mine” Trump said effusively. “He’s a great gentleman.”

A year ago the picture was very different. Trump had followed the lead of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in taking a hard line against Qatar, saying the country needed to scale back ties with Iran and stop funding extremism.

Qatar’s neighbors had also been infuriated by its willingness to host dissidents from across the Gulf and to allow broadcasts critical of them by Doha-based Al Jazeera.

Trump had initially supported an economic blockade on Qatar, but aides — mindful of the pivotal role that the Al Udeid Air Base outside Doha plays in US Middle East operations — have since convinced him to take a more moderate approach.

The Emir said Trump “has been very helpful in supporting us during this blockade,” and thanked the American people for being “very supportive.”

“We do not and we will not tolerate people who fund terrorism. We are cooperating with the United States of America to stop funding of terrorism around the region.”

Trump praised Qatar’s military purchases, saying they buy “a lot of equipment from us, a lot of military airplanes, missiles.”