Saudi king invites Qatar emir to Riyadh summit

Description

Regional analyst and King's College London assistant professor Andreas Krieg said he believed that Riyadh had pushed for the gathering to be shifted from the UAE to Saudi Arabia to increase the likelihood of the emir attending.

"Talks that have been held over the last couple of weeks, including the ones with the foreign minister, have centred on a lift of the blockade from the Saudi side," he said.

The Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met with officials in Saudi for talks last month, according to an Arab diplomatic source.

"For the (Qatari) emir to attend will depend on whether the Saudis can keep their side of the bargain, which would be to lift at least the flight ban or open their side of the border," added Krieg.

Period	4 Dec 2019
Held at	Agence France Presse