Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah is expected to start a Gulf tour this week as part of his efforts to resolve the Qatari crisis ahead of a Gulf summit in Kuwait next December.
The holding of the summit is faced by several obstacles, including the boycott imposed by a number of Gulf States on Doha on the basis of Qatar’s policy that contributes to destabilizing the region and the Arab world.
“Talks between the Saudi and Kuwaiti sides will focus on the ongoing rift between Qatar and the quartet countries, the means to address differences at the negotiating table and finding solutions that will resolve the crisis radically,” Germany’s official news agency quoted a Saudi source as saying.
The sources refused to comment on current reports suggesting that a close solution to the crisis could be reached by holding a meeting of the leaders of the six Gulf countries and Egypt at a summit hosted by Kuwait according to a specific roadmap with the guarantee of the Emir of Kuwait.
“The wisdom and experience of Sheikh Sabah will facilitate the achievement of practical solutions that ensure Qatar’s abidance by the basic principles required by the four countries, the adoption of procedures to converge views based on the commitment to the six principles adopted in 2013, their implementation mechanism, which was issued in 2014, and the written commitment by the Emir of Qatar to implement them,” the sources noted.
Last week, Kuwait’s deputy foreign minister, Khalid al-Jarallah, said that Kuwait had not yet sent invitations to Gulf Arab leaders for the Gulf Summit.
“It was usual at every Gulf summit to send invitations before an appropriate time, but it is too early to talk about these invitations now and send them to our brothers in the Gulf States,” he said.
Jarallah said he was optimistic about reaching a solution to the crisis. He also expressed hope that the dispute between Gulf brothers would be addressed ahead of the upcoming Gulf summit.
“The Kuwaiti mediation efforts to resolve the Gulf crisis will not fail and will continue with the help of the United States,” he said late last month.
