The White House achieved another political breakthrough in the Middle East tonight (Monday). The breakthrough was achieved in negotiations between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Amir Kuwait announced. Tomorrow the two are expected to announce the resumption of relations between them, which were terminated in 2017 following a boycott imposed by the Saudi kingdom on the small Gulf state, due to allegations of support for terrorism and political ties with Iran. It was also reported tonight that Saudi Arabia’s allies in the boycott of Qatar – the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain – are also expected to announce the resumption of relations.
A White House official said tonight: “We have achieved a significant breakthrough in resolving the conflict in the Arab Gulf.” According to various reports, tonight Saudi Arabia is expected to remove the land, air and naval boycott it has imposed on Qatar. The official announcement is expected tomorrow, when it appears that Jared Kushner, President Trump’s special adviser, is expected to attend the event.
The move joins a string of policy successes that Washington has been recording in the Middle East in recent months, with the signing of the “Abraham” agreements, the agreement normalizing relations with Sudan and the agreement renewing relations with Morocco. All of these agreements are part of the US administration’s way to formulate as uniform and broad a front as possible in the Middle East against Iran.
The boycott imposed by Saudi Arabia on Qatar also includes Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Recently, these countries have expressed displeasure with the possibility that the boycott of Qatar will be lifted.
Another country in the Middle East that is expected to be affected by this political move is Turkey, which has recently had good relations with Doha. According to estimates, this move is one of the reasons behind Turkish President Erdogan’s recent attempts to get closer to Israel again. Following the publication of the decision on the agreement, the Turkish government announced that it welcomes it and welcomes it.
Negotiations to renew relations and lift the siege between Saudi Arabia and Qatar began more than a month ago, following a visit to Jared Kushner’s area. Following this visit, it was reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also visited the Saudi coastal city of Ni’um, where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.