International newspapers and media highlighted the importance of announcing the Gulf reconciliation and signing the Al-Ula statement at the summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council, stressing that turning the page on the dispute will contribute to ensuring the stability of the region and reactivating the role of the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as the positive repercussions on the financial market and the economy in the region and the world .
The international reports issued yesterday and translated by Al-Sharq clarified the role of Kuwaiti and American diplomacy, stressing the importance of dialogue and diplomacy in resolving political disputes.
Cooperation agreement
The British Middle East Eye website said that the UAE will resume trade and travel with Qatar within a week, after the agreement that was signed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia last Tuesday with Kuwaiti mediation and American efforts, which ended diplomatic disputes in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
And the British site continued: On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia and its three Arab allies agreed to restore full relations with Qatar, ending the Gulf crisis, which led to a new page opening and hope for healing the rift between the main US allies, just two weeks before the US president-elect took over Joe Biden took office. The Gulf summit was attended by Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. US officials have shuttled to the Middle East in recent weeks to push for a solution to the Gulf crisis.
A priority for Washington
For his part, Al-Monitor reported that the Gulf states signed a solidarity and stability agreement in Saudi Arabia, as the agreement was concluded a day after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia agreed to reopen its air, land and sea borders with the State of Qatar.
The three-year-old dispute between Washington’s major allies in the Middle East reached a turning point on Monday, when the Kuwaiti foreign minister announced that Saudi Arabia would reopen its air, land and sea borders with Qatar. In another positive gesture, reconciliation took place at the Gulf Cooperation Council summit. US President Donald Trump mending the Gulf rift is a foreign policy priority before he leaves office later this month.
A big step for
its part, Bloomberg confirmed that Saudi Arabia and three other Arab countries agreed to fully restore relations with neighboring Qatar, last Tuesday, after continuous US and Kuwaiti efforts to push the two countries towards resolving the crisis. The progress came just two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden took office, who pledged a fresh start with Tehran. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt signed an agreement with Qatar in the city of Al-Ula in northwestern Saudi Arabia during a summit of Gulf Cooperation Council leaders, putting an end to the regional division in one day.
The report added: Reconciliation becomes more important in view of the imminent change in Washington, as Biden pledged to deal diplomatically with Iran if it first returns to the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, and the Gulf agreement is a big step.
“The Gulf summit officially ended the Gulf dispute and it will lead to some form of soft détente,” said Ayham Kamel, head of the Middle East and North Africa division at the Eurasia Group.
The report indicated that the broader economic and financial implications of resolving the dispute will be evident, as the country’s main stock index rose the most in the Middle East region on Tuesday. It’s also good news for Qatar Airways, which has had to abandon plans to add new routes and make lengthy diversions when prevented from crossing Saudi airspace.
International welcome.
A report by the American news network “NBC News” highlighted that reconciliation is a historic agreement that reduces tension in the region, as the agreement between the American allies in the Arab Gulf welcomed a diplomatic victory in Trump’s last days in office.
In a dramatic improvement in relations, leaders of Saudi Arabia and its regional allies reached an important agreement with Qatar on Tuesday, ending three and a half years of stalemate and restoring ties between neighbors in the Persian Gulf.
The leaders of the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council said, in a joint statement, on Tuesday, that the Al-Ula agreement aims to strengthen unity and cohesion among the members and “return the joint Gulf action to its natural path.” Egypt, which is not part of the Gulf Cooperation Council, has also signed the agreement. The agreement, brokered by Kuwait and the United States, among others, was reached at an annual summit of Gulf Arab leaders, in the presence of White House chief adviser Jared Kushner, along with Avi Berkowitz, the special representative for international negotiations. “The Al-Ula summit is very important,” said Noha Abu El-Dahab, a researcher at the Brookings Doha Center for Research.
The Gulf reconciliation was welcomed in the final days of Trump’s term, as all Gulf states are allies of America. Qatar hosts the largest US military base in the region and has its weight on the international stage. Doha will also host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, facilitate Afghan peace talks and host the US Al Udeid Air Base in Al Udeid.
A step forward,
in turn, said French Le Monde: In the torn Middle East region, torn apart by civil wars and political rivalries, a ray of hope emerged last Monday when Kuwait announced an agreement to reopen the airspace and the land and sea borders between the Arabian Peninsula and Qatar.
This expected announcement for several weeks, the important result of a jointly led mediation between Kuwait and the United States, effectively put an end to the crisis that lasted for three and a half years. This crisis led to further instability in the region, which is already suffering from increasing tensions, but a new page opens. Now to restore the cohesion of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The Belgian newspaper Liko said that the Gulf countries reached an agreement of “solidarity and stability” in the city of Al-Ula at a summit aimed at reducing tensions, as this rapprochement puts an end to the Gulf crisis. Washington was one of the main players in this political détente, which will reflect positively on cooperation relations in the region and will facilitate cooperation for the implementation of joint projects.
