Saudi crown prince embraces Qatar, inks solidarity deal

AL-ULA: Gulf leaders signed a “solidarity and stability” deal on Tuesday after the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Qatar publicly embraced, bringing Doha back into the regional fold after a three-year rift.

Saudi Arabia had led a coalition of countries in the Gulf and beyond to cut ties and transport links with Qatar in June 2017, charging that it was too close to Iran and backed radical Islamist groups — allegations Doha denied.

Those countries, along with Oman and Kuwait which have mediated between the two sides, signed a rapprochement deal in the Saudi city of Al-Ula, after Riyadh overnight re-opened its land, sea and air borders to Doha.

“There is a desperate need today to unite our efforts to promote our region and to confront challenges that surround us, especially the threats posed by the Iranian regime’s nuclear and ballistic missile programme and its plans for sabotage and destruction,” said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The details of the agreement were not immediately released, and analysts have warned that any deal could be preliminary in nature and may not immediately end all of the measures taken against Qatar. But the warm welcome that Prince Mohammed extended to Qatar’s ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, with the pair embracing at the airport and then chatting animatedly, indicates a significant breakthrough.

Sheikh Tamim, visiting Saudi Arabia for the first time since the crisis began, was then whisked with the other leaders through Al-Ula’s dramatic Martian landscape to the shimmering Maraya Concert Hall, a mirrored structure situated in a nearby valley.

Washington had intensified pressure for a resolution to what Doha calls a “blockade”, insisting Gulf unity is necessary to isolate US foe Iran as the curtain falls on Donald Trump’s presidency. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser who shuttled around the region to seek a deal, attended the signing in Al-Ula. Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Ahmad Nasser Al-Sabah announced on state television late Monday that “it was agreed to open the airspace and land and sea borders between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Qatar, starting from this evening”.

On Tuesday, Pakistan welcomed the decision by the countries to reopen their land, air and sea borders between them. The Foreign Office in a statement said Pakistan also appreciated other steps being taken by the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which will contribute to resolution of outstanding issues between the countries of the organisation persisting for almost four years.

“Pakistan lauds the positive role played by the Emir of Kuwait towards the resolution of the differences between the countries of the GCC.

His persistent and sincere efforts and cooperation of the GCC countries, led to this important and amicable outcome,” it said.

Pakistan hoped that the GCC Summit would further build on these encouraging developments and lead to enhanced confidence and cooperation among the countries of the organisation.

“Pakistan continues to accord high importance to its relationship with the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as its bilateral relations with all GCC countries,” it said.

The Saudi-led GCC hawks, along with Egypt, in 2017 closed their airspace to Qatari planes, sealed their borders and ports, and expelled Qatari citizens. An information battle raged online with the two camps trading allegations and barbs, deepening the resentments.

At the start of the crisis, the boycotting countries issued a list of 13 demands to Doha, including the closure of pan-Arab satellite television channel Al Jazeera, undertakings on “terror” financing, and the shuttering of a Turkish military base in Qatar. Qatar has not publicly bowed to any of the demands.