President Donald Trump on April 22 asked Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to take steps to resolve his country's ongoing dispute with neighboring Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, which implemented an economic and diplomatic blockade against the tiny emirate in 2017.
“The president and the [emir] discussed the coronavirus response in the United States and Qatar,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement. “The president encouraged the emir to take steps toward resolving the Gulf rift in order to work together to defeat the virus, minimize its economic impact and focus on critical regional issues.”
