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Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s go to additionally marked his third cease within the area this week because the Saudi inheritor to the throne excursions the six U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council. His conferences with Arab rulers are aimed toward fortifying the dominion’s alliances as rival Iran resumes nuclear negotiations with world powers.
The go to is especially vital as a result of final yr at the moment, the neighboring states have been within the midst of a diplomatic standoff that had frayed familial ties within the area, fractured the close-knit GCC and sparked churlish barbs in state-linked media as accusations of hacking and damaging leaks swirled.
Angered over Qatar’s help for Islamist teams just like the Muslim Brotherhood and its ties with Iran, the 4 nations of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar in mid-2017. They sealed their airspace to Qatari flights, shuttered Qatar’s solely land border and expelled Qatari residents from the quartet of countries. The transfer pushed Qatar nearer to Turkey and Iran, which rushed to help the tiny-but-wealthy nation because it navigated the diplomatic assault.
The regional standoff concluded earlier this yr with an settlement signed by Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia. Finally, Qatar didn’t give into an inventory of calls for the quartet had made, together with that it shut down its Al Jazeera information channel and hand over needed Islamists residing in exile.
Relatively, Qatar has emerged a strong mediator within the area. As host to the Mideast’s largest U.S. airbase, Qatar performed a serious function through the U.S.-led evacuation from Afghanistan over the summer time and likewise in facilitating contact with the nation’s Taliban rulers following the closure of Western embassies in Kabul.
Qatar can be properly positioned to play a task in easing tensions between Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Prince Mohammed’s go to to Doha comes simply days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Qatar for conferences. Relations between the 2 have been rocky for the reason that 2018 killing of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi within the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
Upon his arrival to Qatar late Wednesday, Prince Mohammed was greeted on the tarmac with an embrace from ruling Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
He arrived from the United Arab Emirates, the place he shook palms with Abu Dhabi’s crown prince and strongman earlier than their assembly. The formality of their greeting _ in distinction to the embrace he obtained in Qatar after stepping off the airplane _ and the choice to make the UAE his second cease within the tour after visiting Oman spotlights the underlying tensions which have emerged within the Saudi-UAE relationship.
Regardless of a prolonged joint assertion expressing their dedication to financial prosperity and safety on the conclusion of the prince’s go to within the UAE, the normal allies have more and more divergent international coverage stances and are in a heated competitors for international funding and regional clout.
From Qatar, the Saudi crown prince later Thursday traveled to Bahrain. He’s to conclude his tour with a cease in Kuwait.
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