Saudi, allies snub Qatar at Gulf summit

KUWAIT CITY: Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia snubbed its former ally Qatar at an annual summit of Gulf monarchies Tuesday as Kuwait vowed to continue mediation efforts in a bitter dispute with Doha.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani attended the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Kuwait City but was not joined by the leaders of the UAE and Bahrain, also part of a Saudi-led boycott of Qatar.

The future of the six-nation GCC – formed 36 years ago to bring together the energy-rich Sunni-led Gulf Arab states – appeared to be hanging in the balance.

This year’s meeting comes six months into a rift between Qatar and the Saudi-led bloc, the worst crisis ever to hit the organisation. The Qatari emir accepted an invitation, but just hours before the talks began, Saudi King Salman sent his foreign minister, Adel alJubeir, in his stead.

State television showed Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al- Sabah receiving Jubeir at the airport as the head of the kingdom’s delegation.

Sheikh Sabah, whose country has been leading thus far unsuccessful mediation attempts to resolve the crisis, said Kuwait would continue its efforts.

“We have been stormed in the past six months with painful and negative development... but we managed to achieve calm,” Sheikh Sabah said in his address opening the summit.

“Our meeting today is a reason to continue the mediation which fulfils the ambitions of our people.”

He called for the GCC charter to be amended to establish a clear mechanism for resolving disputes between member states.

Kuwait Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah later told a news conference that “the holding of the summit amid these delicate situations proves the faith and conviction of GCC leaders in this organisation”.

The meeting, scheduled to last until yesterday, was cut to a single day. The UAE’s state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash told AFP on the sidelines of the summit that it had taken place under “sensitive circumstances and is a positive step”.

Bahrain sent its deputy premier to the meeting.

The three Gulf states, together with Egypt, cut all ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing the gas-rich emirate of supporting Islamist extremists and of being too close to Shiite Iran, Riyadh’s arch-rival. — AFP