Qatar’s role in clinching a historic U.S.-Taliban accord over the weekend could further strengthen its relationship with key ally Washington despite efforts by fellow Gulf Arab states locked in a dispute with Doha to side line it on the world stage, said experts. “The Qataris have essentially tried to make themselves crucial to the United States in being mediators where the Americans need mediators and of course post-2017… positioning Qatar that way was very important,” said James Dorsey of NTU’s RSIS and Middle East Institute in Singapore.