TRANSCRIPT
(Qatari music)
Donald Trump gets the royal welcome in Qatar with singers and sword dancers putting on a show for the United States President.
After flying from Saudi Arabia, President Donald Trump kicked off the second leg of his three-nation Middle East tour by getting Qatar's ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, to sign a series of economic and defence deals.
The first of the agreements has Qatar buying 160 jetliners from US company Boeing plus options to buy 50 more, a deal worth a reported AU$149 billion.
The other deals focused on defence and the purchase of military drones, with Qatar offering a statement of intent for more than AU$59 billion in future defence investments.
Qatari leader Sheikh Al Thani says the agreements have strengthened the US-Qatar relationship.
AL THANI: "I think after signing these documents, we are going to another level of relationship between Qatar and the United States. So I just wanted to thank you, Mr. President, again for this historic visit. Thank you, very much, sir."
TRUMP: "Well, thank you very much. And this has been a very interesting couple of hours. But I just want to thank you. We've been friends for a long time, long before politics. We always had a very special relationship. And we're going to help each other. The United States is in a very strong position militarily. We have the best equipment anywhere in the world. You're buying a lot of that equipment, actually. And I think we're gonna see some of it in action tomorrow."
Qatar's recent offer to provide a AU$620 million Boeing 747 jet to Donald Trump to use as a temporary Air Force One plane has been criticised as an attempt to buy favour with the US President.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has argued on Fox News that it is not a personal gift but a routine government-to-government transaction.
“Unfortunately, I see that this story is taking a different direction and is being more politicised, while it's a normal government to government deal.”
The Qatari Emir, Sheikh Al Thani also used his meeting with President Trump to encourage the leader to use the US's leverage to help bring the war in Gaza to an end.
"I truly believe that you are a president of peace. Right now, even as we gather tonight, our teams are engaged in intensive diplomacy to secure a ceasefire in Gaza. Mr President, your involvement could catalyse a breakthrough where others have stalled, but only if done in concert with serious partners. Qatar brings the channels, the access, and the credibility. The United States brings power, leverage, and global weight. If we act together, we have a real shot at ending the bloodshed and restoring regional confidence."
In a surprising move, President Donald Trump has avoided Israel on his Middle East trip, although his special envoys Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler have travelled to meet with the families of hostages and show their support.
The Trump administration has appeared to distance itself from the Netanyahu government in recent diplomatic efforts, negotiating a ceasefire with the Houthis directly and coordinating the release of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander with Hamas itself.
President Trump's growing alliance with Qatar, which Israeli officials have long accused of aiding militant group Hamas, could be signalling a shift in the US leaders regional priorities.
He says he is now working with Qatar to secure a deal with Iran to prevent the geopolitical rival from obtaining nuclear weapons.
"You're also working with us very closely with respect to negotiating a deal with Iran. We have two courses, there's only two courses. There aren't three or four or five. There's two. There's a friendly and a non-friendly. And the non-friendly is a violent course, and I don't want that but they have to get moving."
But Iranian officials have not received Mr Trump's request for a nuclear deal well, especially the US President's earlier claims that Iran is supporting terrorism and is encouraging regional proxy wars.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says his country wants peace and such comments are hypocritical coming from the U-S considering their continued backing of Israel's assault on Gaza.
"Did we destroy sixty thousand women and children in Gaza in a year under the bombs and missiles they had? Did we cut off their access to food, water and medicine? Are we a danger? We will not bow down to any bully. This is not just my word, but all women and youth, elites and those who are zealous will not bow down to any power."]]
But, while Donald Trump's efforts to achieve diplomatic success with Iran remain unlikely for now, his decision to lift sanctions on Syria has been met with praise from Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Mr Trump appears to have suggested he made the decision to remove all sanctions imposed during the rule of the former leader of Syria Bashar al-Assad at the request of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
President al-Sharaa, whose rebel alliance ousted al-Assad, celebrated the move as a turning point for Syria."President Donald Trump responded, thanks to him, and then came the decision to lift the sanctions, a historic and courageous decision that removed the suffering of the Syrian people and helped their renaissance and set the basis of stability in the region. Syrians, we still have a long way to go. Today, serious work has begun and with it the renaissance of modern Syria has begun. So Syria is together towards progress, prosperity, science and action."
President Trump has now met with Mr al-Sharaa, the first encounter between the leaders of the US and Syria in 25 years.
In a statement, the White House says during the meeting, Mr Trump also urged President al-Sharaa to deport Palestinians it described as “terrorists”, and to normalise relations with Israel.
But otherwise, the US President reflected fondly on the meeting.
REPORTER: "How did you find the Syrian President?"
TRUMP: "Great. I think very good. Young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past, very strong past. A fighter."
Next up on Donald Trump's four day diplomatic visit to the Persian Gulf is the United Arab Emirates where President Trump hopes to secure more deals and gain more traction in the region.
