Gulf nations, US signal progress to resolve Qatar crisis

Rivals Qatar and Saudi Arabia, along with neutral Oman and Kuwait, said on Dec. 4 progress had been made towards resolving the Gulf crisis that has pitted a regional group of nations against Doha.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he hoped Washington could broker a resolution but cautioned he was "out of the prediction business in terms of timing", signaling a breakthrough may not be imminent.

Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nasser al-Mohammed Al-Sabah, whose country is leading mediation efforts, said all sides had expressed keenness for a "final agreement" during recent "fruitful discussions", which have included the United States.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia's foreign ministers, along with Oman's foreign ministry, tweeted similarly worded statements thanking Kuwait and the U.S. for their efforts to resolve the spat - but gave no details on the talks.

Saudi Arabia led its allies the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to cut ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of backing radical Islamist movements and Iran, charges Doha denies.

They subsequently forced out Qataris residing in their countries, closed their airspace to Qatari aircraft and sealed their borders and ports, separating some mixed-nationality families.

"We have achieved certain progress at a certain point of time more than a year ago, and then things have slowed," Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said at the Mediterranean Dialogues forum in Rome.

"Right now, there are some movements that we hope will put an end (to) this crisis," he said, without giving details.

"We believe that Gulf unity is very important for the security of the region. This needless crisis needs to end based on mutual respect...