ISTANBUL, Oct 26 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- United States (US) President Donald Trump praised Qatar as a “great ally” during a brief refuelling stop in Doha on Saturday while en route to Malaysia to attend the 47th ASEAN Summit, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported.
“It is an honour. We have a great ally. They are great allies, and these are two great men. I want to express our thanks, and you have a safe Middle East right there, and you’re going to keep it that way for a long time,” Trump said alongside Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman.
“I was thinking, we’re landing here, we’re going to fuel up, and it’s such an honour to have you on the plane,” he added.
Trump praised Qatar’s contribution to peace efforts, saying, “What we’ve done is incredible. Peace to the Middle East -- and they were a very big factor in this.”
He said the US and Qatar have achieved “a lot together, especially in the last year.”
On the formation of a stabilisation force to be deployed in Gaza, Trump said it would be in place “pretty quickly,” noting that leaders are being selected now.
“You’re going to have peace in the Middle East. This is real peace -- this has never happened before in 3,000 years,” he said.
In a post on X, Sheikh Tamim said he was “pleased to meet my friend, US President Donald Trump, today on the occasion of his stop in our country.”
“It was a good opportunity to discuss Middle East peace plans, follow up on efforts to consolidate the agreement to end the war in Gaza, and talk about prospects for strategic cooperation between our two friendly nations,” he added.
Sheikh Tamim met Trump at Al-Udeid Air Base, accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior US officials, according to the Amiri Diwan.
Later, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “We have a very strong peace in the Middle East, and I believe it has a good chance of being everlasting.”
The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire took effect on Oct 10 under Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU
