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Journalists watch the screen as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomes Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani ahead of the 41st Gulf Cooperation Council summit in the city of Al-Ula in Saudi Arabia on January 5, 2021.
Fayez Nureldine | AFP | fake images
Saudi Arabia has restored diplomatic ties with Qatar, more than three years after Riyadh and several Arab countries severed ties with Doha.
It comes as Kuwait, a mediator for both sides, announced that Saudi Arabia is reopening its air, sea and land borders with Qatar.
The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for the first time since the dispute broke out in 2017. He was there to attend the annual summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council in the ancient city of Al-Ula.
Relations between Arab nations deteriorated in 2017, when Saudi Arabia and its allies, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, imposed a diplomatic, trade and travel blockade on Qatar. They accused the small Gulf nation of supporting terrorism and being too close to Iran, accusations Doha has always denied.
The dispute plunged the region into a diplomatic crisis not seen since the 1991 Iraq war and exposed deep ideological differences in the region.
Al-Thani said in 2018 that the dispute was a “futile crisis” and that Qatar preserved its sovereignty despite “aggression” from its neighbors.
Saudi-owned media outlet Al-Arabiya also reported on Tuesday that Egypt agreed to reopen its airspace to Qatar.
Ahead of the summit, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in a tweet that the GCC meeting will restore cohesion to the Gulf. And he added: “There is still work to be done and we are in the right direction.”
The reestablishment of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Qatar is part of Washington’s latest effort to negotiate deals in the Middle East. In a diplomatic victory for President Donald Trump, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco normalized relations with Israel in 2020.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry on Monday welcomed the reopening of the borders between Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
“We are hopeful that a comprehensive and lasting solution to this conflict will be achieved on the basis of mutual respect for the sovereignty of all countries and that all other sanctions against the people of Qatar will be lifted as soon as possible,” the ministry said. in a press release.
– CNBC’s Ryan Browne and Mila Latoof contributed to this report.
