By David Singer, CFP
President Trump appears to have been instrumental in pulling off yet another miracle in the Middle East with the announcement that Saudi Arabia would be reopening its airspace and land and sea border with Qatar.
The announcement—which comes on the eve of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit on 5 January—is the catalyst that will see the resolution of a political dispute that led Saudi Arabia and its allies – Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Egypt—to impose a diplomatic, trade and travel boycott on Qatar in June 2017.
Qatar was then accused of having ties with Iran that were deemed too close.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will attend the GCC summit – having received a formal invitation from Saudi King Salman to the six-nation summit.
The Saudi News Agency has reported Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stating:
“that the upcoming GCC summit shall be a summit to close the ranks and unify the stance and to enhance the march of the good and prosperity, adding that we will translate through the summit,”
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner had visited Saudi Arabia and Qatar last November in an attempt to secure such a reconciliation agreement.
One week earlier—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reported to have secretly met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Saudi Arabia denied the meeting took place—but Israel didn’t.
Mr. Netanyahu’s meeting with Mohammed bin Salman – reportedly in the seaside corner of northwest Saudi Arabia—coincided with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit. Yossi Cohen—the director of Israel’s spy agency Mossad—reportedly accompanied Netanyahu.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud had hinted a rapprochement with Qatar was very near when he told the MED 2020 Rome forum on 4 December 2020:
“We’ve made significant progress in the last few days, thanks to the continuing efforts of Kuwait but also thanks to strong support from President Trump and US administration towards bringing all parties closer”
The significance of such a looming reconciliation was summed up by al Khalej Today:
“an extraordinary Saudi movement has emerged in the direction of promoting the achievement of a reconciliation that has become within reach, as the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan, has already mentioned. A reconciliation in which Riyadh is happy, as it believes, as well as its ally Washington, that the Gulf reunification will constitute, if Israel is annexed to it, a united front in the face of Iran, which will stand as an impregnable barrier to any step that contradicts the policy of “maximum pressure”.
GCC Secretary General Nayef Mubarak Al Hajraf has welcomed the reopening of airspace and land and sea borders between Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
“The step, which comes ahead of the 41st GCC summit in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, reflects the great interest and sincere efforts being made to ensure the success of the summit, which is held in light of extraordinary circumstances,”
Kushner will reportedly be attending the signing ceremony to end the blockade of Qatar.
Anwar Gargash—UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs—describing the upcoming summit as “historic” – stated:
“We stand before a historic summit in Al-Ula, through which we restore our Gulf cohesion and ensure that security, stability and prosperity is our top priority. We have more work ahead and we are moving in the right direction,”
Could these developments herald more Arab states soon joining Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Morocco in recognizing Israel?
President Trump keeps continuing to pull more rabbits out of the hat.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar agree to reopen airspace and maritime borders
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(CNN)Saudi Arabia and Qatar have agreed to reopen their airspace and maritime borders starting Monday, after a years long freeze on relations, Kuwaiti officials have announced.
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Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Ahmad Nasser Mohammed al Sabah said Monday on state television that “based on the recommendation of his highness Sheikh Nawaf al Ahmad al Sabah, the Emir of Kuwait God protect him, it was agreed to open the air and maritime borders starting today (Monday) between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.”<
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He also said that the final agreement was the fruit of a call brokered by the Kuwaiti Emir with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.<
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The diplomatic breakthrough comes one day before a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Tuesday, hosted by Saudi Arabia.<
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Representatives from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will attend the event. The Qatari Emir will also attend the summit, his first visit to the country in three years.<
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In a statement, bin Salman said the summit would focus on regional “unity and cohesion,” according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA). “Through [the summit] the hopes of the [Saudi] King and his brothers, the leaders of the (Gulf Cooperation Council), for unity and cohesion will be translated into facing the challenges of the region,” SPA reported.<
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A senior US administration official told CNN on Monday that President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, helped negotiate the reopening between the two countries and was also expected at Tuesday’s summit to attend a ceremony marking the achievement.
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Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates broke off relations with Qatar in 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region. Qatar — which shares its only land border with Saudi Arabia — rejected the accusations, calling them “unjustified” and “baseless.”<
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But Saudi Arabia and Qatar have recently worked to close the rift. At a virtual diplomatic conference in December, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud said he was “optimistic” about repairing relations.<
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The two countries had taken “significant” steps toward reconciliation, he added, crediting both Kuwait and the US: “We’ve made significant progress in the last few days, thanks to the continuing efforts of Kuwait but also thanks to strong support from President Trump and US administration towards bringing all parties closer.”<
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At the same conference, Qatar’s Foreign Minister acknowledged that there were movements to finally “put an end to the Gulf crisis.”<
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