With eye on U.S. ties, #SaudiArabia leads pack on Gulf detente | Reuters

With eye on U.S. ties, Saudi Arabia leads pack on Gulf detente | Reuters

FILE PHOTO: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin 

Hamad al-Thani during the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) 41st Summit in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia January 5, 2021. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS

Saudi Arabia will move faster than its allies to reconcile with Qatar, sources familiar with the matter said, aiming to impress the incoming Biden administration by ending what the West sees as a parochial dispute that benefits only mutual foe Iran.

The rapprochement reduces potential points of friction between Riyadh and a U.S. government sure to be less forgiving than outgoing President Donald Trump, who has consistently protected the kingdom from criticism of its human rights record.

In a move that cast the kingdom as a force for stability in a turbulent region, Saudi de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chaired a summit on Tuesday that declared an end to the bitter rift in which Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt have boycotted Qatar since mid-2017.

The kingdom said at the gathering that all four states had agreed to restore diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Doha under a U.S.-backed deal, but the three sources said the other three nations had been pressed to sign a general declaration and were likely to move more slowly, as deep divisions remain.