US pushes Saudi Arabia, Qatar closer to resolving long-running spat: report

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December 03, 2020, 01:59 AMlatest revision December 03, 2020, 02:38 AM

QATAR NEWS AGENCY / AFPSenior Advisor to US President Jared Kushner (L) meets with Qatar’s ruler Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in the capital Doha on December 2, 2020.

Preliminary deal to only include Saudi Arabia and Qatar as broader agreement said to remain distant

Saudi Arabia and Qatar are drawing closer to signing a preliminary agreement that would put an end to their long-running spat, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

The agency cited three sources as saying that the two sides were engaged in Kuwait-brokered talks, with US President Donald Trump pushing the two states towards a deal.

The accord would only cover the relations between Doha and Riyadh, while more Gulf countries are involved in the row.

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In mid-2017, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt joined Saudi Arabia in cutting their ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

A larger deal including all of those states remains far, with some issues yet to be resolved, Bloomberg reports.

Among those is the matter of Qatar’s ties with Iran, which only grew closer as the kingdom found itself facing an embargo from its Gulf neighbors.

The embargo also prompted Qatar to tighten its links with Turkey, which supplied it with aid during the embargo and established a military presence in the country.

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