London - MENA
A Qatari royal used Cherie Blair, the wife of former prime minister Tony Blair, as an emissary to Hillary Clinton, the latest batch of Mrs Clinton's emails to be released by the US State Department has revealed, according to The Telegraph.
The emails show that in May 2009 Mrs Blair sent a message to Mrs Clinton, when she was Secretary of State, asking for her to meet with Sheikha Moza, a member of the Qatari royalty — and one of the nation's most recognisable figures.
The email, titled "confidential", says Sheikha Moza wanted a "women to women" one on one meeting with Mrs Clinton and was "keen to get their relationship with the USA onto a more positive footing".
Mrs Blair, who erroneously addressed Mrs Clinton as "Hilary", writes that Sheikha Moza has "real influence" in Qatar and was willing to travel to Washington to meet Mrs Clinton.
Mrs Clinton replied to say she would be "happy to host" Sheikha Moza and in September wrote to Mrs Blair that she "really enjoyed my time with our friend."
Qatar's donations to the Clinton Foundation have raised questions about President Bill Clinton's non-profit organisation accepting money from foreign countries while his wife was in government.
The State Department has released roughly 3,000 pages of 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton's correspondence from 2009, her first year as the nation's top diplomat, on Tuesday night.