PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron has invited Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to next week’s G7 leaders’ summit, according to two government officials and two individuals from the private sector who have been briefed on the plans.
Al Thani has accepted the invitation, according to an Arab official and a European diplomat, who, like others quoted in this piece, were granted anonymity to speak candidly about a meeting still in the works. It’s unclear if Prince Mohammed will attend.
“There’s no point talking about them without them there,” said a U.K. official. “It’s right to bring them in … Let’s hear what they’re hearing through their channels.”
The two Gulf leaders were asked to join talks next Tuesday to secure and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to maritime traffic. Renewed strikes between Israel and Iran, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump’s vow to respond to Tehran’s shooting down of an American helicopter, have fueled fears of renewed hostilities. However, Trump said earlier Tuesday that a deal to end the war was within reach.
Egypt’s Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is also joining the talks as a partner nation of this year’s G7.
G7 leaders, including Trump, are to meet at the lakeside resort of Evian-les-Bains for a summit likely to be dominated by a series of international crises, from the conflict in the Middle East to Russia’s war on Ukraine.
France and the U.K. are spearheading efforts to push for a maritime mission to protect the Strait of Hormuz once the war concludes. Iran has effectively blocked the strait since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran in February, driving up fuel and energy prices worldwide.
The Trump administration has, however, repeatedly criticized Europeans for not doing enough to support the U.S. war effort or helping to protect the strait once fighting subsides.