Egypt's Sisi Can Possibly Meet Qatar's Tamim İn Jan.

A noted Kuwaiti journalist on Monday expected the Saudi capital Riyadh to host a summit meeting between Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani during the first week of next month.



"The meeting will be in January," Ahmed Al-Jarallah, the editor-in-chief of the Kuwaiti newspapers Arab Times and Al-Seyassah, told The Anadolu Agency by phone.



"The meeting will not be held following al-Sisi's current visit to China as some people say," Al-Jarallah, who is close to decision-making circles in both Cairo and Riyadh, added.



He said Cairo had presented a list of demands before a meeting could be held between the Egyptian President and the Emir of Qatar.



He did not elaborate on the nature of these demands, but said some of the demands were connected with Cairo's desire that Doha does not host some "wanted" figures from the Muslim Brotherhood, the movement from which ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi hails.



"Some Brotherhood figures, who live in Qatar, are wanted by Egypt's courts," Al-Jarallah said. "These people hold other nationalities – apart from the Egyptian nationality," he added.



He said these figures could go to other countries, including the United States or Turkey.



Saudi Arabian efforts recently succeeded in partially thawing relations between Cairo and Doha – two Arab capitals whose relations deteriorated dramatically following the ouster of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi by the army.



Qatari media, including Al Jazeera's Mubasher Misr news channel, regularly described Morsi's ouster as a military coup and allowed the ousted president's supporters to criticize Egypt's post-Morsi authorities.



Cairo had viewed this as "interference" in its domestic affairs. Egypt had also asked Qatar to deport several Morsi supporters wanted by the Egyptian authorities.



On Saturday, however, a special envoy dispatched by the emir of Qatar met the Egyptian president in Cairo for the first time since the latter came to power in June of this year.



A short time later, Saudi Arabia said both Cairo and Doha had accepted its initiative for reconciliation.



On Monday, Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr announced that it was halting transmission.



Some observers saw the channel's closure as a byproduct of the unfolding détente between Cairo and Doha.



Al-Jarallah said the expected meeting between the Emir of Qatar and the Egyptian President would focus on bringing relations between the two Arab countries back on track and solving all differences between them.



He expected Egypt's ambassador to Doha – who was recalled by Egypt months ago – to go back to Qatar, even before al-Sisi meets with Tamim.



Earlier in the day, two Egyptian political sources ruled out the possibility that Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi would hold a summit meeting with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in coming days.



The sources said, however, that the door for a possible summit meeting between the two leaders remained "ajar."



The sources, including one close to the Egyptian presidency and another close to the Foreign Ministry, said the two men had no plans to meet following al-Sisi's current visit to China.



They said Egypt wanted to be sure of Qatar's "goodwill" before a meeting was scheduled between the emir and the president.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Kahire