Qatar's prime minister on Tuesday rejected criticism of the wealthy Gulf country's offer to US President Trump of a US$400 million luxury aircraft to serve as a new Air Force One.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani defended the gift as "an exchange between two countries", adding that he viewed the issue as a "normal thing that happens between allies".
00:00We have seen that there was a lot of, you know, controversy that's being created out of this, what I call it, an exchange between two countries.
00:15And basically, the relationship that we have between Qatar and the United States is a very institutional relationship.
00:22And that's, it witnessed different administration and the institutional relationship remain very strong and at the backbone of this partnership.
00:33I see it as a normal, you know, a normal thing that happens between allies.
00:41And basically, I don't know why people, they are thinking about it, about that this is considered as a bribery or considered as something that Qatar wants to buy an influence with this administration.
00:59I don't see any, honestly, valid reason for that.
