Jeddah meet suggests Gulf crisis may be ending: Kuwait

KUWAIT CITY (AA) – A Thursday meeting in Jeddah between the parliamentary speakers of six Arab Gulf states -- including Qatar -- suggests that the ongoing crisis in inter-Arab relations “may be close to an end”, according to Kuwaiti Parliament Speaker Marzouq al-Ghanim.

On Thursday, Jeddah hosted the 12th meeting of heads of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) parliaments and shura councils, which was attended by Qatari Shura Council Speaker Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Mahmoud.

Quoted on Friday by the Kuwait News Agency, al-Ghanim hailed the success of Thursday’s meeting, which, he said, had “featured the heads of all six GCC parliaments sitting side by side”.

“This could not have been achieved without the support and approval of GCC leaders, who all gave their blessings to the meeting,” he was quoted as saying.

In mid-2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt all abruptly severed ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups.

Qatar, for its part, has vociferously denied the allegation, describing the Saudi-led embargo against it as a violation of international law.