US embassy cable - 04ABUDHABI2061

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 002061 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2009 
TAGS: PREL, QA, TC 
SUBJECT: VIEWS ON QATAR-SAUDI MEETING, QATAR'S TIES 
WITH THE UAE 
 
Classified by Richard A. Albright, Charge d'Affaires, 
a.i., reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) In farewell calls with the Ambassador, the 
Qatari Ambassador to the UAE, Abdullah Al-Othman, and 
Abu Dhabi Deputy Crown Prince and Chief of Staff of 
the UAE Armed Forces, Shaykh Mohamed bin Zayed (MbZ), 
gave their respective readouts on the recent Qatar- 
Saudi talks, and on the Qatari Crown Prince's June 13- 
14 visit to the UAE. 
 
Qatar-Saudi talks 
----------------- 
 
2. (C) The Qatari Ambassador, Abdullah Al-Othman, said 
on June 15 that meetings between the Qatari Emir, 
Shaykh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, and senior Saudis, 
including Prince Salman bin Abdelaziz, the Governor of 
Riyadh, were a good start at improving relations.  The 
meetings were arranged by Kuwait on a yacht off the 
southern coast of France.  The Qatari Ambassador said 
that the Qataris were appreciative of Kuwait having 
brokered the meetings and said that that two future 
meetings would take place in Europe, but without the 
Kuwaitis.  In a separate meeting with the Ambassador 
on June 14, MbZ said he doubted that relations could 
improve much further without the Qataris reining in Al 
Jazeera television.  The only way to deal with radical 
television personalities at Al-Jazeera -- MbZ cited 
Feisal Al-Qassim (moderator of "The Opposite 
Direction") and Shaykh Yousef Al-Qardawi (talk show 
host and religious expert) -- was to get rid of them. 
(Note: MbZ has made his views on Al-Jazeera known to 
the Qataris on several occasions.  End note.)  MbZ 
thought that Crown Prince Abdullah and the Emir Hamed 
would have to meet in person to make real progress. 
 
3. (C) The Qatari Ambassador said the Qatari 
leadership viewed the Saudis as being very tired.  The 
Saudis are under a lot of pressure and seemed visibly 
scared, he said.  Al-Othman added that the Qataris had 
conveyed the message that the SAG could get away with 
lying to the people some of the time, but not all the 
time.  (Comment:  It strikes us as highly unlikely 
that such a message could have been delivered with 
this bluntness.  End comment.) 
 
Qatari Crown Prince's visit to UAE 
---------------------------------- 
 
4. (C) Qatari Crown Prince Shaykh Tamim bin Hamad Al- 
Thani made his third visit to the UAE June 13-14 at 
the invitation of UAE Crown Prince Shaykh Khalifa bin 
Zayed.  The greeting party included Shaykh Khalifa, 
Deputy Prime Minister Shaykh Sultan bin Zayed, MbZ, 
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for 
Foreign Affairs Shaykh Hamdan bin Zayed (HbZ), and 
Saeed Al-Kindi, Speaker of the Federal National 
Council.  Shaykh Khalifa hosted him for lunch on a 
private island, and MbZ and HbZ gave Tamim a tour of 
the Abu Dhabi Ship-building Company.  MbZ told the 
Ambassador that the Qataris were interested in the 
shipyards for both their coast guard and for 
recreational yachts.  (Note: France and the UAE are 
co-producing Corvette patrol craft at the shipyards as 
part of the Emiratis' plan to modernize their navy. 
End note.)  The Qatari Ambassador said that the visit 
had generated no new agreements or projects, but that 
it had propelled political, economic, and commercial 
relations. 
ALBRIGHT