Saudi Arabia: full ties restored between Qatar and embargo nations

Saudi Arabia and its three Arab allies agreed to restore full ties with Doha at a summit in the kingdom on Tuesday, the Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud said.

The minister told a news conference after the gathering of Gulf Arab states, also attended by Egypt, that there was political will and good faith to guarantee implementation of the agreement to restore diplomatic and other ties, including resumption of flights.

Qatar’s ruling emir arrived in Saudi Arabia for a Gulf summit and was greeted with an embrace by the kingdom's crown prince on Tuesday, following an announcement that the kingdom would end its yearslong embargo on the tiny Gulf Arab state.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani was met in the historic city of Al-Ula by de facto Saudi ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, France 24 reported.

The meeting came a day after Kuwait, another GCC member, announced a Saudi decision to open its airspace and borders to Qatar following an embargo that began in mid-2017.

Qatar's only land border has been mostly closed since June mid-2017, when Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain launched a blockade against the small, but influential Persian Gulf country. The Saudi border, which Qatar relied on for the import of dairy products, construction materials and other goods, opened briefly during the past three years to allow Qataris into Saudi Arabia to perform the Islamic Hajj pilgrimage.