Gulf leaders are meeting in Saudi Arabia for their annual summit on Tuesday amid a breakthrough in the long-running dispute between a Saudi-led bloc and Qatar.
Saudi Arabia on Monday announced the reopening of land borders with Qatar after a three and a half-year spat that saw the kingdom, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade ties and impose a land, sea and air blockade on the Gulf state.
The quartet accused Doha of, among other things, supporting terrorist groups and being too close to Iran, allegations that Qatar has consistently denied.
While the Saudi decision marks a major milestone towards resolving the Gulf crisis, the path to full reconciliation is far from guaranteed. The rift between Abu Dhabi and Doha has been deepest, with the UAE and Qatar at sharp ideological odds.
Here are the latest updates:
Saudi meeting prelude to wider talks
Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Doha, said Tuesday’s GCC summit will likely set the tone for wider talks that would take place in the short to medium term to resolve other outstanding issues.
“It is a crucial gathering because this when they will have to start talking about some of the outstanding elements” Ahelbarra said.
“They will have to decide on the modalities of the agreement. Later, they will have to say that the core issues are ones that will need some time to solve because we are talking about a wide range of issues that have to do with the region and other parts of the world.”
Calm at Qatar-Saudi border crossing as regional meeting gets underway
The Abu Samra border crossing between Saudi Arabia and Qatar was quiet on Tuesday morning as a summit of the regional Gulf Cooperation Council got underway.
“It’s still quiet at the border. No facilities have been set up yet for dealing with COVID-requirements – temperature check and testing,” said Al Jazeera’s Sorin Furcoi, reporting from Abu Samra.
“People are still coming to the border point to inquire as to whether they can actually across but according to officials, there still hasn’t been any crossing on either side.”
Qatar emir lands in Saudi Arabia for landmark summit
Qatar’s ruler was warmly greeted by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on arrival in the kingdom for Tuesday’s GCC summit.
Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani’s Airbus A340, emblazoned with the word “QATAR” in the emirate’s signature burgundy, landed in Al-Ula, northwestern Saudi Arabia, shortly after 0900 GMT, Saudi state television showed.
Qatari stocks see rise sharp amid hopes of Gulf reconciliation
Asian stocks headed higher on Tuesday with Chinese stocks getting a boost after the New York Stock Exchange made a surprise about-turn on its decision to delist the shares of three of China’s biggest telecommunications companies.
Qatari stocks were also up sharply on hopes of a resolution to the years-long dispute with its Gulf neighbours, while crude oil investors were waiting for the outcome of a meeting of the world’s top producers to determine output levels.
Shares rose despite uncertainty about Senate runoffs in the US state of Georgia, which could have a big impact on incoming US President Joe Biden’s ability to pursue his preferred economic policies.
Read more here.
Egypt’s foreign minister to take part in Gulf Arab leaders’ summit – source
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry will attend Tuesday’s GCC summit, an official source was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
Qatar more resilient after blockade: Analyst
Sultan Barakat, director of the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies at the Doha Institute, said Qatar has emerged as a more resilient country since the blockade was imposed more than three years ago.
“Over the last few years, the Qataris have managed to learn to live with the blockade and that has helped them discover better ways of living and more efficient ways of sustaining their economy and managing their affairs,” Barakat told Al Jazeera.
“This resulted in an extremely resilient country that has demonstrated itself in the lifting of the blockade without them having to address the totally irrational 13 conditions,” he said, referring to a list of demands the quartet had initially set as a precondition for the lifting of the blockade.
Al Arabiya: Egypt says it will open its airspace with Qatar pending fulfillment of demands
Citing unnamed sources, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya reported that Egypt will open its airspace with Qatar, adding that “implementation will be contingent on the fulfillment of Egyptian requirements”.
The Dubai-based news outlet gave no details on what demands the Egyptian government was after.
Calm at Saudi-Qatar land border
The Abu Samra border crossing between Saudi Arabia and Qatar was quiet on Tuesday morning, several hours after Kuwait announced the border was open.
It is not yet clear what the rules are for crossing the border, however, Qatar is not allowing non-resident visitors into the country as part of COVID-19 restrictions.
“There still has been no crossings after yesterday’s announcement,” Al Jazeera’s Sorin Furcoi said, reporting from the border. “It’s even quieter than last night. They also don’t allow the press to hang around for too long in the customs area.”
Qatar emir heads to Saudi Arabia for Gulf summit: state media
Qatar’s ruler Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani headed to Saudi Arabia, state media said, for a Gulf Arab summit that is expected to see formal agreement towards ending a dispute that has seen Riyadh and its allies boycott Qatar.
Read the full story here.
