Trump to Host UAE Crown Prince

The White House said Friday President Donald Trump would host the United Arab Emirates' Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, but did not specify a date.

The news comes after Washington said Trump would host Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on April 10 in an effort to end a diplomatic spat that has riven America's Persian Gulf allies, AFP reported.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar last year, accusing Doha of bankrolling extremists and fostering ties with Saudi arch-rival Iran.

The White House said Trump spoke on the phone with bin Zayed, his country's de facto ruler, "to discuss regional developments and opportunities for increasing cooperation on a range of security and economic issues."

A statement added, "The leaders agreed that all [P]GCC [(Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council] states can and should do more to increase coordination with each other and with the United States to ensure the peace and prosperity of the people in the region."

It said the pair "agreed on the importance of a united [P]GCC," in what appeared to be a reference to the regional dispute, since the [P]GCC member countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Trump had taken a hard line against Qatar, saying the country needed to scale back ties with Iran and stop funding extremism.

Cracks had appeared in the six-nation council long before the latest Saudi-led hostility against Doha. The tiny emirate has endured the economic and trade sanctions with the help of friendly countries, namely Iran and Turkey.

Moreover, Qatari leaders have dismissed allegations by the regime in Riyadh and its few regional allies that it supports radical groups in the volatile region. They have regularly called for talks with their (P)GCC peers to resolve differences in the interest of their peoples and for the sake of peace and stability in the region.

Independent observers say Washington’s interference in Persian Gulf affairs is unwanted and unhelpful and that if the regional powers want they can and are able to resolve their differences peacefully.