Gulf countries and Qatar close to ending their dispute after more than three years
Saudi Arabia and Qatar are very close to sealing a preliminary agreement that will put an end to the dispute they have had for three years, when the kingdom imposed a boycott on the Qatari together with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, and which has been sponsored with the support of the United States, according to Bloomberg.
According to the sources consulted by the news agency, the agreement does not include the other three countries that also imposed the boycott on Qatar in June 2017 and comes after the visit to the region made in recent days by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of Donald Trump and his envoy to the Middle East.
During his tour, Kushner met the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh and the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani in Doha. According to the sources consulted by Bloomberg, the agreement is also the result of intense diplomatic efforts by Kuwait in recent months.
The rapprochement will most probably include the reopening of airspace and land borders, the end of the information war the two countries have been waging during this time and other measures to restore confidence, according to two of the sources familiar with the pact consulted by Bloomberg.
Another has indicated that there are still unresolved issues, chiefly the relationship between Doha and Tehran. In the case of Saudi Arabia, which is reportedly on the verge of a rapprochement with Israel, Riyadh is concerned that Joe Biden's arrival at the White House will place less pressure on Iran than that exercised by Trump, which would leave its oil installations more exposed, according to these sources.
For his part, the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, speaking remotely at the annual Manama Dialogue of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said he hoped that any agreement between Qatar and the boycotting countries would be made on a "lasting basis". "We are very hopeful that the dispute between the Saudis and the Qatari can be resolved," Pompeo said.
"We will continue to work to facilitate the talks and dialogues. "This unnecessary crisis must come to an end," Sheikh Mohammed said, speaking earlier to the Mediterranean Dialogues. "There are some movements that hope this will put an end to this crisis," he said. "We actually believe that the unity of the Gulf is very important for the security of the region.
The three Gulf countries and Egypt agreed to boycott Qatar after accusing the country of supporting terrorist groups and undermining attempts to isolate Iran, Riyadh's number one enemy, although the measure has not brought Doha to its knees, which has always denied the accusations against it and has not complied with the demands imposed to lift the blockade, including the closure of the Al Jazeera television channel.