Livni to discuss Shalit deal in Qatar

Foreign minister to leave for Doha on Sunday for meetings with senior Arab officials, in bid to advance deal for kidnapped soldier's release. Foreign Ministry refuses to discuss visit despite reports in Arab media

8 April 2008
by Roni Sofer

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will leave Sunday for a three-day visit to Qatar in a bid to advance the deal for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. As part of the visit, Livni will work to strengthen the Gulf states' front against the Iranian nuclear program.

Contrary to a report by the Qatar-based al-Jarida newspaper on Tuesday, the foreign minister is not expected to meet with Syrian officials during her visit.

The Foreign Ministry has so far refrained from discussing the issue for security reasons, but reports in the Arab media Tuesday revealed the upcoming visit.

During her visit to Doha, Livni is expected to hold a series of personal meetings with Arab foreign ministers and parliament members attending a convention in the Qatari capital.

The foreign minister also expected to discuss the crisis between Israel and the al-Jazeera network, on the backdrop of an Israeli boycott following claims of a one-sided coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by the Qatar-based station.

Livni is known to have good relations with the Qatari government, and particularly with Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the prime minister and foreign minister, with whom she has met several times in the past.

In October 2006, Livni called off her participation in a UN convention in Doha, following the arrival of two Hamas lawmakers.

Sources at the foreign minister's office confirmed the upcoming Qatar visit but refused to add further details.