Saudi Arabia to open airspace, borders to Qatar

Saudi Arabia will reopen its borders and airspace to Qatar, U.S. and Kuwaiti officials said on Jan. 4, a major step towards ending a diplomatic rift that has seen Riyadh lead an alliance isolating Doha.

The bombshell announcement came on the eve of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) annual summit in the northwestern Saudi Arabian city of Al-Ula, where the dispute was already set to top the agenda.

In another sign the three and a half year spat was nearing resolution, the office of Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said that he would attend, after he skipped the annual meetings for the last three years.

Riyadh led a coalition of countries in the Gulf and beyond that cut ties with Doha in June 2017, charging that it was too close to Tehran and backed radical Islamist groups - allegations that Qatar has always denied.

Washington has intensified pressure for a resolution to what Doha calls a "blockade", insisting Gulf unity is necessary to isolate U.S. nemesis Iran as the curtain falls on Donald Trump's presidency.

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor, shuttled around the region to seek a deal and will attend the signing on Tuesday of the "breakthrough", a U.S. official said.

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Ahmad Nasser Al-Sabah announced on state TV that "it was agreed to open the airspace and land and sea borders between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Qatar, starting from this evening."

He noted that the agreement was based on a proposal by Kuwaiti emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, reflecting the nation's repeated efforts to mediate in the crisis.

Drivers in south Doha on the usually calm Salwa highway towards the Saudi border at Abu Samra sounded their horns and...