Saudi crown prince in 1st visit to Qatar after embargo ended

DUBAI – Saudi Arabia’s crown prince visited Qatar connected Thursday, his archetypal travel to Doha since the kingdom rallied different Arab states to extremity their yearslong rift and embargo of the tiny Gulf Arab state.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's sojourn besides marked his 3rd halt successful the portion this week arsenic the Saudi heir to the throne tours the six U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states that marque up the Gulf Cooperation Council. His meetings with Arab rulers are aimed astatine fortifying the kingdom’s alliances arsenic rival Iran resumes atomic negotiations with satellite powers.

The sojourn is peculiarly important due to the fact that past twelvemonth astatine this time, the neighboring states were successful the midst of a diplomatic standoff that had frayed familial ties successful the region, fractured the close-knit GCC and sparked churlish barbs successful state-linked media arsenic accusations of hacking and damaging leaks swirled.

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Angered implicit Qatar's enactment for Islamist groups similar the Muslim Brotherhood and its ties with Iran, the 4 nations of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar successful mid-2017. They sealed their airspace to Qatari flights, shuttered Qatar's lone onshore borderline and expelled Qatari citizens from the quartet of nations. The determination pushed Qatar person to Turkey and Iran, which rushed to enactment the tiny-but-wealthy federation arsenic it navigated the diplomatic assault.

The regional standoff concluded earlier this twelvemonth with an statement signed by Arab leaders successful Saudi Arabia. Ultimately, Qatar did not springiness into a database of demands the quartet had made, including that it adjacent down its Al Jazeera quality transmission and manus implicit wanted Islamists residing successful exile.

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Rather, Qatar has emerged a almighty mediator successful the region. As big to the Mideast's largest U.S. airbase, Qatar played a large relation during the U.S.-led evacuation from Afghanistan implicit the summertime and besides successful facilitating interaction with the country's Taliban rulers pursuing the closure of Western embassies successful Kabul.

Qatar is besides good positioned to play a relation successful easing tensions betwixt Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Prince Mohammed's sojourn to Doha comes conscionable days aft Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was successful Qatar for meetings. Relations betwixt the 2 person been rocky since the 2018 sidesplitting of Saudi professional Jamal Khashoggi successful the Saudi Consulate successful Istanbul.

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Upon his accomplishment to Qatar precocious Wednesday, Prince Mohammed was greeted connected the tarmac with an clasp from ruling Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

He arrived from the United Arab Emirates, wherever helium shook hands with Abu Dhabi's crown prince and strongman earlier their meeting. The formality of their greeting — successful opposition to the clasp helium received successful Qatar aft stepping disconnected the level — and the determination to marque the UAE his 2nd halt successful the circuit aft visiting Oman spotlights the underlying tensions that person emerged successful the Saudi-UAE relationship.

Despite a lengthy associated connection expressing their committedness to economical prosperity and information astatine the decision of the prince's sojourn successful the UAE, the accepted allies person progressively divergent overseas argumentation stances and are successful a heated contention for overseas concern and determination clout.

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From Qatar, the Saudi crown prince aboriginal Thursday traveled to Bahrain. He is to reason his circuit with a halt successful Kuwait.

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