Breakthrough Reached in Gulf Dispute with Qatar

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RIYADH, 05 January 2021, (TON): A breakthrough has been reached in Qatar’s three-year-old dispute with Saudi Arabia and three other Arab countries and an agreement to end their rift signs in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday (today).

As part of the deal, Saudi Arabia will reopen its airspace and land and sea border to Qatar as of Monday, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Ahmad Nasser al-Sabah said ahead of a Gulf Arab summit in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday (today).

Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the annual gathering of Gulf leaders would unite Gulf ranks “in the face of challenges facing the region”.

Qatar’s ruler, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, will attend, the royal court said. Saudi crown prince and Qatari emir to sign the deal today.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt have imposed a diplomatic, trade and travel embargo on Qatar since mid-2017 accusing it of supporting terrorism. Qatar denies it and says the embargo aims to undermine its sovereignty.

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in a Twitter post that Tuesday’s summit would restore Gulf unity and that “more work lies ahead and we are moving in the right direction”.

“Our hope is that this dispute reaches a comprehensive and lasting resolution based on mutual respect for the countries’ sovereignty and that other sanctions against the people of Qatar are lifted as soon as possible,” Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said, adding that Turkey supported all efforts to bring stability to the Gulf region.

Earlier in December, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said a resolution to the dispute seemed within reach, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a Twitter post said he hoped Gulf reconciliation “contributes to stability and political and economic development for all peoples of our region.”

Meanwhile, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is in Saudi Arabia and attending the 41th GCC summit today to reach a formal agreement towards ending an embargo..

 

 

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