DOHA – Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani has received an invitefrom Saudi Arabia to attend this month s Gulf Cooperation Council summit,despite an ongoing diplomatic crisis, Doha state media said Tuesday.
The invitation to Riyadh is significant as Qatar has been isolated by agroup of countries led by Saudi Arabia since June 2017, in the worstpolitical fallout between the energy-rich Gulf powers.
Qatar News Agency said in a tweet that the emir had received “an invitationfrom the King of Saudi Arabia” for the meeting on December 9.
The tweet did not say if the emir would travel to the Kingdom.
Regional powerhouse Saudi and its allies the United Arab Emirates, Bahrainand Egypt have suspended all relations with Qatar, claiming Doha supportsterrorism and is too close to Riyadh s great rival, Iran.
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Qatar denies the allegations, but the bitter dispute has dragged on for 18months and has shown little sign of being resolved.
Earlier this week, Qatar announced it was leaving OPEC, a move seen by someas a calculated snub to Riyadh, one of the oil cartel s most dominantpowers. – APP/AFP