Kuwait, which announced the opening on Monday, also serves as a mediator. Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah said in a televised statement that the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Qatar would be a ‘new page in fraternal relations’.
Saudi officials did not immediately confirm an agreement between the two countries.
The decision of the Gulf countries in 2017 to sever ties with Qatar, sever diplomatic relations and suspend land, air and sea travel forced the small monarchy into immediate crisis. Trade and commerce that had previously flowed smoothly across the Gulf fell apart; some families are suddenly unable to see relatives living on the other side of the gorge; thousands of people had to leave their homes virtually overnight to return to Qatar or the other countries.
Since then, however, Qatar has relied on its enormous natural gas wealth to become more self-sufficient and build stronger relations with both Iran and Turkey, another enemy of the blocking countries, particularly the United Arab Emirates.
Combined with the pressure from Washington, the way for negotiations has become clearer in recent months, and officials on both sides have indicated that talks are progressing. And analysts say Saudi Arabia may have seen the outbreak as a way to start seeing the kingdom’s relationship with the incoming Biden government, which threatened to take Saudi Arabia more seriously, on a positive note.
But some analysts say there is little indication that Qatar will change its behavior when it comes to the practices that frustrate its neighbors the most – and the megaphone he uses to spread his message and his enemies, the Al Jazeera media network. , to pleasure, is still little. moving away from Iran and Turkey.
Getting Qatar to change its relationship with Turkey could be a ‘wishful thinking’, Hussein Ibish, an analyst at the Arab Gulf State Institute in Washington, wrote in December. “Given the number of issues that are likely to remain unresolved, there is a great potential for future disagreement and perhaps another crisis over Qatar policy in the foreseeable future.”