Qatari FM: Some 'Movement To End' GCC Crisis But May Not Be Imminent

Doha News reporting comments from Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Friday that there may be some 'movement to end' the ongoing crisis in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which has seen relations between Qatar and other members, notably Saudi Arabia, reach a multi-year low. The comments come a day after initial speculation from media outlets that an end to the crisis could be imminent.

• The minister said that the move towards came after a visit from Senior White House advisor and son-in-law to US President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, who has mediated talks between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
• However, it seems that a resolution may not be not imminent, with Al Thani stating that "Qatar is not differentiating between any of the countries [in the GCC]. We hope things will move in the right direction but we cannot yet predict if it will be imminent and if it will be resolved in one day,"
• He was also quick to quash any potential rumours that Qatar would sign up to the Abraham Accords alongside Bahrian, the UAE, and Sudan in recognising the state of Israel, saying "the Gulf crisis has nothing to do with the Abraham Accords or any normalisation with Israel".
• Relations between Qatar and the rest of the GCC collapsed in 2017, when Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar and blockaded the country, accusing the gov't of supporting terrorism.
• In reality, Qatar's support for the Muslim Brotherhood organisation, close ties to Iran, and the continued operation of the Al Jazeera news network were the main factors behind the blockade.
• Should a resolution be reached, it would likely require significant concessions on the Qatari side, given the economic and military weight of the rest of the GCC. This could leave Iran with one fewer ally (or if not an ally then at least a country not openly hostile to Tehran) in the region.