Trump again delays Gulf summit on ‘Arab Nato’
Qatar dispute key to delay but US government blames midterm elections
The Trump government has postponed a summit with Gulf partners and other regional countries for the second time because of a lack of progress on the Qatar dispute.
The summit has been pushed back from mid-October until early next year.
The government has blamed US President Donald Trump’s “packed travel schedule before November’s midterm elections” but regional sources told The National it was linked to the Qatar dispute.
Initial plans were to hold the summit with Gulf nations, Jordan, Egypt and possibly Morocco in the middle of this month.
Working groups took place in August and continued this month to establish the agenda.
The focus was to be on security co-operation including maritime and ballistic missile threats, countering Iranian aggression and battling extremism.
US officials said in July that Washington’s plan was to forge an “Arab Nato” tentatively known as the Middle East Strategic Alliance.
Initially, the summit had been planned for May, but meetings with North Korea and the continued stalemate with Qatar delayed it until this month.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Doha in June last year over its support for terrorism and interference in the internal affairs of its neighbours.
In Washington, Mr Trump’s trips and Islamic holidays were rumoured to be behind the delay, even though there are no such holidays in October.
The US government seems convinced that it can gather Gulf leaders and set up the alliance without resolving the Qatar dispute.
But Marcelle Wahba, president of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and a former ambassador to the UAE, was not surprised by the postponement.
“It will be difficult to hold a summit or launch Mesa as long as there is no progress or resolution for the Qatar dispute,” Ms Wahba told The National.
“The American side really wanted to see some progress on the issue, if not total resolution, before Mesa and that didn’t happen.”
Preparatory plans for the summit have now included Morocco.
In an August 29 meeting, US Defence Secretary James Mattis hosted a regional meeting at the Pentagon with representatives from the GCC states, along with Egypt, Jordan and Morocco.
The Pentagon’s chief spokeswoman, Dana White, said a broad range of security issues were discussed and they agreed to reconvene in the coming months to continue negotiations on shared strategic objectives.
Last May, Morocco severed diplomatic ties with Iran and accused Tehran of supporting the Polisario Front, a western Sahara independence movement.
Morocco said the disputed area forms an integral part of its territory. Last month it warned its banks to stop dealing with Iran.
The US government seems convinced it can set up a Gulf alliance without resolving the Qatar dispute