Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held a phone call with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held a phone call with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday, the first since the two countries restored their diplomatic ties on January 5th.

According to Qatar’s foreign ministry, Sheikh Tamim wished the Saudi crown prince good health and wellness after he reportedly underwent a surgery for appendicitis. The two royals also discussed “the latest regional and international developments”.

“The Amir affirmed the State of Qatar’s firm support for the government and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and everything that would enhance the security, stability and sovereignty of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, considering its stability as an integral part of the stability of the State of Qatar and the Gulf Cooperation Council system,” added the statement.

While the phone call was a renewal of the growing Qatari-Saudi ties, it also came days after a US intelligence report found that the Riyadh’s crown prince was involved in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Consequently, several media outlets speculated that the phone call represented Qatar’s support to Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader. Among those outlets was the London based Middle East Eye [MEE], which claimed that Qatar had joined its neighbours in showing support for Saudi Arabia in the Khashoggi case.

However, a diplomatic source told Doha News that such speculation was misguided and inaccurate. “The call had nothing to do with the declassification of the US intelligence report or the case of the late Jamal Khashoggi” he added.

Several analysts who have been following developments in the GCC have further corroborated this, among them Dr. Andreas Krieg, a lecturer at King’s College London, who tweeted, “It looks like the MEE piece misconstrued the phone call between Qatar’s Emir and MbS – Qatar’s expression of support for Saudi at that time was not about the Khashoggi report but about the Houthi missiles attacks – Qatar hasn’t come out to defend MbS over the Khashoggi murder.”

On the day of the call, Qatar condemned Houthi missile attacks that targeted the kingdom’s capital Riyadh, denouncing it as “a dangerous act against civilians, which contradicts all international norms and laws”.

While Qatar’s government has not commented on the release of the Khashoggi report, in contrast, the UAE and Bahrain expressed their support for the man believed to be behind the journalists murder, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, on the same day the classified information was disclosed.

Commenting on the report, Manama expressed its rejection “of anything that would undermine the sovereignty of Saudi Arabia”.