DUBAI, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) leadership meet with a member of the ruling family of Qatar on Monday, UAE state news agency WAM reported.
The UAE Vice President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan received Sheikh Sultan bin Suhaim Al-Thani, a member of the ruling family of Qatar, as Al-Thani's delegation is visiting in Abu Dhabi.
Sheikh Sultan Bin Suhaim Al-Thani is a son of former emir Sheikh Khalifah Bin Hamad Al-Thani who abdicated in 2013 and handed over his power to his son Tamim Bin Hamad. Sultan Bin Suhaim has been calling for a new chapter of his country's foreign policy.
The meeting marked a first since the UAE and its Arab allies imposed a political and economic boycott of Qatar in June 2017.
The "Arab Quartet" of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt blamed the incumbent Qatari leadership of supporting "extremism and terrorism" and of aligning with Iran against Gulf Arab interests, charges which Qatar has denied.
Since the outbreak of the crisis, all transport routes and trade relations between the UAE and Qatar have been blocked.
The report said the UAE leadership welcomed Sheikh Sultan, while Sheikh Sultan congratulated the UAE side on the safe return of Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan, the grandson of the first UAE President Sheikh Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan (1918-2004).
Sheikh Zayed Bin Hamdan was wounded while fighting in Yemen where a Saudi-led coalition has been running a military campaign against Shiite Houthi rebels backed by Iran.
No further details about the meeting were given. In October last year it was reported that the Sheikh Sultan Bin Suhaim's assets were seized in Doha by the ruling family.
