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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 5 January 2021
Saudi Arabia to lift Qatar embargo, easing the Gulf crisis

Normalization with Qatar of the Muslim Brotherhood
could buy Saudi Arabia as a security threat and
time to strike compromises have deemed the group a
with the Biden administra- terrorist organization. Saudi
tion on other issues, like its Arabia and Bahrain are pri-
war in Yemen and poten- marily concerned with Qa-
tial U.S. re-engagement tar's close ties with regional
with Iran, said Samuel Ra- foe Iran.
mani, a non-resident fellow Those simmering tensions
at the Gulf International came to a boil in the sum-
Forum. mer of 2017, when the four
"Saudi Arabia could frame countries announced their
a partial détente, which al- stunning blockade on Qa-
lows Qatari civilian planes tar and cut all transport
to fly over Saudi airspace and diplomatic links with it.
and de-escalates the in- The move frayed social ties,
formation war, as proof of separating families who'd
'new thinking' in Riyadh," intermarried with Qataris.
Ramani said ahead of the It also pushed Qatar dip-
announcement. lomatically closer to Tur-
In a recent column for the key and Iran, which both
In this May 5, 2018 photo, a giant image of the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, UAE's The National news- rushed to Doha's aid with
adorns a tower in Doha, Qatar. paper, Beirut Institute food and medical supplies
Associated Press
founder Raghida Dergham that had been in short sup-
By AYA BATRAWY and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Council, which comprises questioned whether Gulf ply in the first days of the
ISABEL DEBRE Al Thani. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bah- states would be able to fi- embargo. Patriotic fervor
Associated Press While the Saudi decision rain, Kuwait, Oman and nalize a strategy on how swept through Qatar in
DUBAI, United Arab Emir- marks a major milestone Qatar. to approach the Iran issue, support of Sheikh Tamim's
ates (AP) — Saudi Arabia toward resolving the Gulf Kuwait's foreign minister which they would then put resolve.
will open its airspace and spat, the path toward full said in a statement carried forward to the Biden ad- Gas-rich Qatar also took
land border to Qatar on reconciliation is far from on state TV that Kuwait's ministration as it comes to an economic hit from the
Monday evening in the guaranteed. The rift be- ruler had spoken with Qa- power on Jan. 20. blockade, and its national
first step toward ending a tween Abu Dhabi and tar's emir and Saudi Ara- At heart are concerns that airline was forced to take
years-long diplomatic cri- Doha has been deepest, bia's crown prince. The Qatar's close relations with longer and more costly
sis that deeply divided U.S. with the UAE and Qatar at conversations "emphasized Turkey and Iran have un- routes. It was unclear how
defense partners, frayed sharp ideological odds. that everyone was keen on dermined regional security. the blockade would im-
societal ties and tore apart Following Kuwait's an- reunification," and would Egypt and the UAE view pact its ability to host the
a traditionally clubby alli- nouncement, the UAE's gather in Al-Ula to sign a Qatar and Turkey's support 2022 FIFA World Cup.q
ance of Gulf states. Minister of State for Foreign statement that promises to
Qatar's only land border Affairs, Anwar Gargash, "usher in a bright page of
has been mostly closed tweeted that his country brotherly relations."
since mid-2017, when Sau- was keen to restore Gulf The summit will be "inclu-
di Arabia, Egypt, the United unity. However, he cau- sive," leading the states
Arab Emirates and Bah- tioned: "We have more toward "reunification and
rain launched a blockade work to do and we are in solidarity in facing the chal-
against the tiny Gulf state, the right direction." lenges of our region," Saudi
accusing it of supporting The lifting of the embargo Crown Prince Mohammed
Islamist extremist groups by Saudi Arabia paves the bin Salman was quoted as
and of having warm ties way for Qatar's ruler to at- saying in remarks carried
with Iran. The Saudi border, tend an annual summit of by the Saudi state-run news
which Qatar relied on for Gulf leaders Tuesday that agency.
the import of dairy prod- will be held in the king- The decision to end the
ucts, construction materials dom's ancient desert site Saudi embargo comes just
and other goods, opened of Al-Ula. The summit would weeks after President Don-
briefly during the past three traditionally be chaired by ald Trump's advisor and
years to allow Qataris into Saudi King Salman, though son-in-law, Jared Kushner,
Saudi Arabia to perform his son and heir, the crown visited the kingdom and
the Islamic hajj pilgrimage. prince, may instead lead Qatar in a final push by the
It was unclear what con- the meeting. administration to secure a
cessions Qatar had made State-run Qatari media diplomatic breakthrough.
or is promising to make re- confirmed Monday eve- It also comes just ahead of
garding a shift in its policies. ning Sheikh Tamim would President-elect Joe Biden's
Kuwait, which had been be attending the summit, swearing in. Saudi Arabia
mediating throughout the a move that analysts say may be seeking to both
dispute, was first to an- would have been domesti- grant the Trump adminis-
nounce the diplomatic cally sensitive for him had tration a final diplomatic
breakthrough through its the Saudi blockade still win and remove stumbling
foreign minister. Earlier on been in place. blocs to building warm ties
Monday, the foreign minis- This year, Egypt's president with the Biden administra-
ter had reportedly traveled has also been invited to at- tion, which is expected to
to Doha to deliver a mes- tend the summit of the six- take a firmer stance to-
sage to Qatar's ruling emir, nation Gulf Cooperation ward the kingdom.