Middle East

Qatar PM Defends Plane Gift to Trump, Calling It a ‘Normal’ Transaction

Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, on May 20.Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg

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By Fiona MacDonald, Paul Wallace, and Joumanna Bercetche

May 20, 2025 at 8:30 AM UTC

Updated on

May 20, 2025 at 2:37 PM UTC

Qatar defended its decision to gift a Boeing Co. 747 jumbo jet to the US as a routine transaction between partners, calling criticism of the deal a misguided view of the country as an Arab state trying to gain political influence.

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