President Donald Trump's son-in-law is headed to Saudi Arabia in an attempt to fix the ongoing dispute with Qatar. Kushner spent the past four years attempting to achieve Middle East peace, which Trump promised he could achieve quickly and easily.
Kushner built a close relationship with the Saudis while his father Charles Kushner tried to reach a deal with Qatar's minister of finance to buy his building at 666 Fifth Avenue.
Trump campaign funder Tom “Barrack said he told the former prime minister of Qatar to consider investing in the Kushner Cos. property,” according to a Washington Post report in 2017.
Kushner presented his Middle East peace plan in 2019 and it has continued to flop. Kushner claimed he would develop a plan that would make it impossible for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to say no to Trump. The problem, however, international relations reporter Fred Kaplan explained, is Kushner's "peace plan" wasn't about peace so much as it was about power.
Bringing the Saudis together with Qatar would certainly stabilize the region after the conflict reignited under Trump's presidency.
"In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and other Sunni states severed ties with Qatar and closed their airspace and sea routes to Qatari planes and vessels," Axios reported Sunday. "They claimed their decision was based on Qatar's support for terror groups and relations with Iran."
The U.S. has stronger relationships with Qatar and maintains a military presence there. Kushner has a close friendship with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Kushner has attempted to bring the two together several times, but he's failed each time.
"Accompanying Kushner will be White House envoy Avi Berkowitz," said Axios. He worked with Kushner on the failed peace plan. The move comes after Kushner held a secret meeting between Netanyahu and MBS last week. It also comes shortly after the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.