Depth of reconciliation questioned as Gulf rulers end squabble - FT.com

Depth of reconciliation questioned as Gulf rulers end squabble - FT.com:



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Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (third from left) flanked (from L to R) by Saudi Arabia's deputy prime minister Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, UAE prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, and Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah during a Gulf Co-operation Council summit in Riyadh

Qatar has paid a heavy price for its controversial pro-Islamist policy over the past year. Dispensing with the pretence of brotherly relations, three of its hawkish neighbours, led by Saudi Arabia, withdrew their ambassadors from Doha in May and put the Qatari emir on notice. Months of heated rhetoric and leaks that went to the point of suggesting an invasion of Qatar, followed.



And then, in mid-November, Gulf rulers kissed and made up. “Truce Declared”, “New Page Opened”, splashed regional newspapers, with pictures of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir, planting a kiss on the forehead of the Saudi ruler in Riyadh.



Soon after, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Abu Dhabi crown prince, who was said to be even more livid with Qatar than his Saudi colleagues, arrived unexpectedly in Doha, where the newfound warmth was on display as he and the emir walked hand in hand."



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