Tuesday, January 05, 2021

Persian Gulf monarchies sign agreement to resolve diplomatic rift with Qatar

The members of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf, which includes Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, have signed a "solidarity and stability" agreement that effectively puts an end to the diplomatic spat between Doha and other members of the council.

Under the agreement, the Persian Gulf kingdoms will lift the blockade on Qatar and reopen their airspace as well as land and maritime borders with the peninsular monarchy.

"These efforts helped us reach the agreement of the Al-Ula statement that will be signed at this summit, where we affirm our (Persian) Gulf, Arab and Islamic solidarity and stability", Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said, according to Al-Arabiya.

Qatar and its Persian Gulf neighbors had been locked in a bitter diplomatic dispute which started in 2017, when several Arab nations severed ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorism - a claim Qatar has denied. However, the regional crisis showed signs of a breakthrough after Riyadh and Doha agreed to reopen their borders and airspace on Monday.

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