Qatar and Saudi Arabia are close to an agreement to open borders and skies



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The “Bloomberg” agency quoted three well-informed sources as saying that Saudi Arabia and Qatar are close to reaching an initial agreement to end their three-year dispute.

The operation is carried out with the support of the administration of President Donald Trump, which seeks to achieve political gains before its functions end on January 20, and the initial agreement does not include the rest of the boycotting countries, namely the United Arab Emirates. The United States, Bahrain and Egypt, according to Bloomberg sources.

US presidential adviser Jared Kushner left the Qatari capital on Wednesday night. Kushner came to the region as part of a recent effort to resolve the Gulf crisis. Official sources in the US administration stated that his tour includes meetings with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

“Bloomberg” said that this potential breakthrough on the wall of the Gulf crisis comes after months of tireless diplomatic efforts by Kuwait, which mediated during the crisis. He said the rapprochement could lead to the reopening of airspace and land borders and end the “information war” that Qatar and Saudi Arabia entered, as well as other steps to build confidence within a detailed plan to gradually rebuild. the relationships.

The New York Times quoted a diplomatic source as saying that in Qatar, Kushner raised the issue of diverting Qatari flights from Iran’s airspace to Saudi Arabia. The source added that diverting these flights from Iran’s airspace could deprive the latter of millions of dollars annually.

The newspaper took a step in the Trump administration’s efforts to reach an agreement on the Gulf crisis that would lead to the lifting of the blockade on Qatar, and also noted that it could be placed in the context of Washington delivering a final blow to the Iranian economy before Trump leaves the White House.

In Doha, Kushner raised the issue of Qatari commercial flights passing through Saudi airspace, rather than through Iran. And if Saudi Arabia acceded, the passage, according to “The New York Times”, would deprive Iran of about 100 million dollars, according to diplomatic estimates, which it was receiving from Qatar for the passage of its planes through its airspace due to the blockade . She said: “These funds were feeding the depleted Iranian economy and allowing Tehran’s leaders to finance military programs more easily, which is what the Trump administration considers a threat, according to officials.”



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