Saudi Arabia signals progress in ending 3-yr-old rift with Qatar

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister signaled progress may be underway toward resolving the three-year- old rift with its neighbour Qatar, following a meeting in Washington with Secretary of State Michael Pompeo.

“We continue to be willing to engage with our Qatari brothers, and we hope that they are as committed to that engagement,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan said in a virtual discussion hosted by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy on Thursday. “But we do need to address the legitimate security concerns of the quartet, and I think there is a path toward that” with a solution “in the relatively near future.”

The rift in relations started in June 2017, when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt abruptly severed diplomatic, trade and transport ties with Qatar, saying its government supported militant groups and had meddled in their internal affairs for years. Qatar has vehemently denied those claims. In June, Kuwait, a mediator between Qatar and its quartet of Gulf Arab neighbors, said there was progress toward resolving the standoff. Yet the crisis continues.

Prince Faisal visited Washington for a Us-saudi strategic dialogue at the State Department that included discussions about relations with Israel, the US’ “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran and the war in Yemen.