CROWN PRINCE PLEDGES QATAR'S FULL COOPERATION TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L DOHA 000285 E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/30/2019 TAGS: PREL KWBG KPAL QA SUBJECT: CROWN PRINCE PLEDGES QATAR'S FULL COOPERATION TO SE MITCHELL Classified By: Ambassador Joseph E. LeBaron, for reasons 1.4 (b, d). -------------- (C) KEY POINTS -------------- -- Senator Mitchell outlined the Administration's approach to Middle Eastern conflicts and emphasized to Heir Apparent Shaykh Tamim President Obama's personal commitment to bringing about peace in the region. -- Tamim said Qatar welcomed the President's commitment to a two-state solution and encouraged Special Envoy Mitchell "to listen to the right people" and not believe everything he hears about Qatar. -- Noting past differences were generally behind the U.S. and Qatar, Tamim nonetheless said it's important to talk through disagreements. -- He encouraged the U.S. to entrust Qatar with passing our messages to Hamas. End Key Points. ¶1. (C) Qatar's Heir Apparent, Shaykh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, met April 21 with Special Envoy George Mitchell. He told Senator Mitchell that Qatar "needs someone we believe in" for the difficult and important task of achieving Arab-Israeli peace, especially in these difficult times. Observing that the GOQ was very pleased with President Obama's speech in Turkey calling for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Tamim pledged Qatar's "full support and help," stressing that the U.S. and Qatar need to talk with each other when they disagree. ¶2. (C) S/E Mitchell thanked Tamim for Qatar's support and asked him to extend his best wishes to his parents. S/E Mitchell underscored President Obama's personal commitment to pursuing peace in the region, as evidenced by his scheduled meeting at the White House later that day with King Abdullah II of Jordan. Senator Mitchell recounted that, at the time President Obama offered him the role of special envoy, the President gave his sincere assurances that he would be fully engaged in working for regional peace. ¶3. (C) S/E Mitchell explained that he and the Administration are trying to "jump start" the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, given the possibility of further violence, and the U.S. also seeks to move forward on the Syria and Lebanon tracks. S/E Mitchell asked Tamim to assure the Amir that the U.S. will keep in close contact with Qatar and will do its best to pursue a peaceful resolution of the conflicts in the region so that "the business of building prosperity can begin." ¶4. (C) Tamim encouraged S/E Mitchell to "listen to the right people," telling him (in reference to what Qatar's neighbors say about Qatar) that "you can't believe everything you hear." Tamim added that Qatar believes in "you and President Obama's intentions" and will do its best to support the U.S. Noting that the U.S. and Qatar had differences of opinion in the past, he underscored that the bilateral relationship is now "moving forward." Tamim reiterated the need to talk through differences: "When we have differences it's because we speak the truth." ¶5. (C) Tamim cited Qatar's role in urging Hamas to participate, over Hamas' objections, in Palestinian elections as an example of truth telling. "Looking back," Tamim said, Hamas' participation in the elections was "probably a mistake" because "there was no opening to the outside world." However, like other parties in the region, Qatar "pushed, pushed, pushed," even though Qatar had told the U.S. and others that holding elections was a bad idea. Tamim urged S/E Mitchell to use "reliable" parties "whose only vested interest is peace" to pass messages to entities like Hamas with which the U.S. does not have direct contact. ¶6. (C) S/E Mitchell, observing that President Obama would meet with Israeli PM Netanyahu in mid- to late May, said he would pursue peace directly and responsibly. Tamim thanked Senator Mitchell for his visit to Doha, responding that Qatar "will give you 100 percent effort, and our door is always open to you." ¶7. (U) Meeting Participants on the U.S. side in addition to the Special Envoy and Ambassador: Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for NEA David M. Hale NSC Executive Secretary Mara E. Rudman PA DAS Jonathan M. Prince Payton L. Knopf, NEA/IPA P/E Chief Rice (notetaker) Qatari officials in addition to the Heir Apparent: Qatar's Ambassador to the U.S., Ali Fahad Al-Hajri MFA Director of European and American Affairs Adel Al-Khal Amiri Diwan notetaker ¶8. (U) Special Envoy Mitchell's staff has cleared this message. LeBaron