Saudi Arabia and Qatar end Middle East enmity

© Associated Press

Saudi Arabia and three other Arab states are lifting the land, water and air blockade imposed on Qatar and ending the country’s isolation, which began three and a half years ago.

This was announced by the Kuwait Minister of Foreign Affairs on the country’s state television. Qatar’s Al Jazeera also quoted him as saying that “an agreement has been reached to open” all the borders between Saudi Arabia and Qatar as of tonight.

The confirmation would end the rift that marked the Arab monarchies in the Persian Gulf (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates) and Egypt, where there is a power struggle in the Middle East. In return, Doha will withdraw all lawsuits filed in international courts over the blockade.

However, the crisis with Qatar is also important due to the differences in the approach of Riyadh and Doha: Qatar has close relations with the main regional rivals, Turkey and Iran, it also supports the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as Hamas in Gaza. He urged many inside and outside the region to speak out about two main blocs, not always united but competing for influence with each other: many Arab Gulf states and Egypt against Turkey, Qatar, Iran, and large non-Arab Muslim states like Malaysia. and Pakistan. By the way, the closure of a Turkish military base, as well as Al Jazeera TV, were on a list of 13 demands to Doha, but it refused to comply.

It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving office. Among the sharpest criticisms of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt in recent months has been that Doha is supporting Ankara in initiatives such as the Libyan conflict or pouring billions into a country shaken by an economic crisis.

An “agreement” was reached between the parties a day before the Gulf Cooperation Council summit, which Qatar is expected to attend for the first time in some time. According to a spokesman for President Donald Trump’s administration, the United States participated in the advance and President Jared Kushner’s son-in-law also assisted and will attend the ceremony.

Kushner’s team is also behind last year’s list of normalization agreements between the Arab states and Israel, one of the Trump administration’s few clear foreign policy advances. The negotiations have also been carried out by the traditional mediator Kuwait, as well as by Oman, who maintains a certain closeness.