UAE, Qatar engage in tussle over handling of Kabul airport in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan

A diplomatic tussle has broken out between the UAE and Qatar over management of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Taliban-ruled Kabul.

The United Arab Emirates has held talks with the Taliban to run Kabul airport, going up against Gulf rival Qatar in a diplomatic tussle for influence with Afghanistan's new rulers, according to four sources with knowledge of the matter.

UAE officials have held a series of discussions with the group in recent weeks to discuss operating the airport that serves as landlocked Afghanistan's main air link to the world, the foreign diplomats based in the Gulf region told Reuters.