A Middle East Make-Up Proves Complicated - Bloomberg #Qatar #SaudiArabia #UAE
The Saudi-led attempt to ostracize Qatar might now yield a foreign policy win for a U.S. president looking to embellish his legacy while maintaining he didn’t lose an election.
But as talks brokered by the Trump administration edge closer toward a deal, the healing of the Saudi-Qatar rift has exposed strains in another relationship between Gulf neighbors that could have more lasting implications.
Conspicuous by its absence from the expected rapprochement with Qatar is the United Arab Emirates, which had moved in tandem for years with Saudi Arabia on everything from oil policy to international relations.
The Saudis and their Emirati allies have diverged over the war in Yemen, with the U.A.E effectively withdrawing from the conflict a year ago. The U.A.E also asserted itself with its landmark deal with Israel in September.
The leadership in Abu Dhabi has been more eager to continue the isolation of Qatar. There’s also room for discord over how to approach Iran, with expectations that President-elect Joe Biden will seek to rejoin the nuclear deal that Donald Trump ditched.
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