The ruler of Qatar said in a meeting with President Trump Tuesday that Syrian President Bashar Assad is a “war criminal” who must be stopped from killing more of his own people.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said the Syrian people have suffered for too long in the seven-year-old civil war.
“Me and the president, we see eye-to-eye that this matter has to stop immediately,” the Emir said as he sat next to Mr. Trump in the Oval Office. “We cannot tolerate with a war criminal, we cannot tolerate with someone who killed more than half a million of his own people. This matter should end immediately.”
The comments by Mr. Al Thani came as Mr. Trump and his military advisers are debating military action against Syria in response to a chemical weapons attack last weekend that killed dozens of civilians. Mr. Trump has vowed that the attack will be “met forcefully” by the U.S.
Mr. Trump didn’t address Syria in the brief session with reporters Tuesday. He focused instead on efforts to pressure Qatar and other Persian Gulf nations to stop supporting terrorism, and on negotiations to end a diplomatic dispute between Qatar and its neighbors.
“We’re working on unity in that part of the Middle East and I think it’s working out very well,” Mr. Trump said. “We’re making sure that terrorism funding is stopped in the countries we are really related to. That includes UAE [United Arab Emirates], it includes Saudi Arabia, it includes Qatar and others. A lot of countries were funding terrorism and we’re stopping it.”
Turning to the Emir, Mr. Trump said, “You’ve now become a very big advocate and we appreciate that.”
“We do not, and we will not, tolerate with people who fund terrorism,” Mr. Al Thani replied.
He also thanked Mr. Trump for playing a “very vital” role in trying to resolve the diplomatic crisis.
The Emir said his country will double the value of its trade with the U.S. to $250 billion in the next few years, with much of that business involving the purchase of U.S. military hardware.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.