Kuwaiti envoy meets Amir of Qatar to defuse Gulf tensions

doha — Kuwait’s foreign minister met the Amir of Qatar on Friday for talks that appeared aimed at trying to ease tensions between Qatar and other Gulf states over its policy towards Iran and regional extremist groups.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates signalled frustration at Qatar after its state media published purported remarks by the Amir of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, criticising Gulf stance against Iran and suggesting tensions between the Amir and US President Donald Trump.

Qatar said the remarks, published late on Tuesday, were fake and that the news agency that ran them had been hacked in an apparent attempt to misrepresent Sheikh Tamim’s views.

But Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia allowed their state-backed media to run them throughout the day on Wednesday, infuriating Doha and triggering a war of words in regional media.

Kuwait, which acted as a mediator during a previous Gulf dispute with Qatar, sent its top diplomat Sheikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah to visit Sheikh Tamim on Friday. The Kuwaiti official conveyed greetings from the Kuwaiti Amir to the ruler and Qatari people, state news agency Kuna said, without elaborating.

A Gulf official said on Thursday that Kuwait’s Amir had offered during a conversation with Sheikh Tamim to mediate and host talks to ensure the feud does not escalate. Kuwaiti officials were not immediately available for comment.

On Thursday Qatar’s foreign minister told reporters Doha wanted to maintain “strong and brotherly relations with GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries”. —