Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, welcomes Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani of Qatar on his arrival to attend the 41st Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Al-Ula, Arabia Saudi, on January 5, 2021.
Bandar Algaloud | Reuters
Saudi Arabia reestablished diplomatic relations with Qatar, more than three years after Riyadh and several Arab countries broke ties with Doha.
Kuwait, mediator on 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 started in 2017. He was there to attend the Gulf Cooperation Council’s annual summit in the former city of Al-Ula.
Relations between Arab nations soured in 2017, when Saudi Arabia and its allies – the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt – imposed a diplomatic, commercial and travel blockade to Qatar. They accused the tiny Gulf nation of supporting terrorism and being too close to Iran, charges that Doha has always denied.
The dispute plunged the region into a diplomatic crisis not seen since the 1991 war against Iraq, and exposed profound ideological differences in the region.
The Emir of Qatar in 2018 said the dispute was a “useless crisis” and that Qatar has preserved its sovereignty despite the “aggression” of its neighbors.
Saudi media Al-Arabiya also reported on Tuesday that Egypt has agreed to reopen its airspace to Qatar.
Before the summit, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in a tweet that the GCC meeting will restore Gulf cohesion. “There is still work to be done and we are in the right direction,” he said.
The restoration of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Qatar is part of Washington’s latest effort to negotiate in the Middle East. In a diplomatic victory by President Donald Trump, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco normalized relations with Israel in 2020.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Monday welcomed the reopening of the borders between Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
“We hope that a comprehensive and lasting solution to this conflict will be achieved based on 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 statement. press.
– CNBC’s Ryan Browne and Mila Latoof contributed to this report.