The diplomatic crisis between Qatar and most of its neighbors in the Persian Gulf, who accused it of supporting terrorism, seems to have come to an end, more than three years later.
The Monday, Saudi Arabia opened its maritime, land and air borders with Qatar, closed since June 5, 2017, when the Saudis, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt broke diplomatic relations with Doha.
And this Tuesday, an agreement ending l embargo was signed in the Saudi city of Al-Ula, during a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that will once again have the presence of the Emir of Qatar.
Boycott of Qatar: did Saudi Arabia’s move go wrong with its neighbor? According to the BBC’s chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet, a source involved in organizing the summit said that the Saudi decision to open its airspace and land and sea borders sought to create the confidence necessary to guarantee the assistance of Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
In 2017 When the embargo was imposed, the Qatari monarch said that he would not travel to any country that would restrict the entry of other citizens of his country, which has always rejected accusations of supporting terrorism.
The end of the embargo was staged at a meeting on Tuesday between the leaders of the nations involved. And although the three-and-a-half-year lockdown particularly impacted the Qatari economy, it has also been quite a bit expensive for the other Gulf states and especially for their notion of unity, which is what, in recognition of the changes in the international political landscape, the cumbr e of the GCC will try to start to heal.
How Qatar has survived a year of blocking your Gulf neighbors Change of circumstances Indeed, as explained by the correspondent in security matters of the BBC, Frank Gardner, “the lifting of the embargo on Qatar has required months of patient and meticulous diplomacy , mainly by Kuwait, but with an increasingly urgent push of the White House as the Trump presidency comes to an end. ”
Kuwait University professor Bader al-Saif, however, downplayed the role played by the Trump administration, stating on Twitter that while the US had been part of the solution, they have also been “part of the problem” by emboldening Saudi Arabia with their unconditional support.
And in the same sense Karen Young expressed herself, expert in political economy of the Gulf of the American Enterprise Institute , who in statements collected by the newspaper The Guardian noted that the agreement probably has more to do with the changes that are coming in Washington and the Saudi need to recalibrate, “as well as the different fiscal reality of the GCC states.”
For Young, the other Gulf countries need Qatar in the GCC “store” , but that does not mean that they share a vision about their role in the region.
“Too independent”: the reasons behind the rupture of diplomatic relations of Saudi Arabia and other countries with Qatar And that is something that Gardner also agrees on, who warns that the Qataris “ will not forgive or quickly forget what they see as a pu stabbed on the back of its neighbors in the Persian Gulf ”.
Qatar is a small but rich country. “Beyond diplomatic rhetoric, a One country in particular, the United Arab Emirates, has serious doubts that Qatar is really going to change its ways. While Qatar denies its support for terrorism, it has supported Islamist political movements in Gaza, Libya and elsewhere, notably the transnational Muslim Brotherhood, which the UAE sees as a existential threat to their monarchy ”, explains the BBC expert.
“Meanwhile, the embargo has brought Qatar closer to the ideological enemies of Saudi Arabia: Turkey and Iran,” he adds.
In fact, the sanctions were imposed after Qatar refused to comply with a series of demands that included the closure of the Al Jazeera television and a cooling of its diplomatic relations with Iran, which has not happened.
Close Al Jazeera and others 12 demands made by Saudi Arabia and its allies to Qatar to end the blockade And, for the moment, Qatar’s only concession appears to be to have waived the legal claims it had filed against Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies.
Which means that, in the best of cases, the end of the embargo will be nothing more the first step on a long road or , in which new accidents cannot be ruled out.
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