Trump to Persian Gulf: Resolve Qatar crisis or no Camp David
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump wants to bring feuding Persian Gulf leaders to Camp David for a show of solidarity with the United States. But there are strings attached: No breakthrough in the Qatar crisis, no Camp David.
A potential summit of the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council in May at the prestigious presidential retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains will be scuttled unless Qatar and neighbors Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are on track to resolve the nearly year-long spat. A pair of Trump administration emissaries will deliver the message next week as they crisscross the Gulf in a renewed bid to try to end the crisis.
It's not clear that the Gulf countries even want to attend such a summit, which would require leaders who have spent the last eight months bashing Qatar to put all of that aside and pose for friendly group photo-ops. But if there's one trait that unifies Qatar and its neighbors, it's an unwavering desire to show they're simpatico with Trump.
