Saudi Arabia reaches out to Qatar, only makes matters worse

Saudi Arabia on Saturday suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of distorting facts soon after a phone call between the rulers of both countries offered hope of a breakthrough in the three-month-old Gulf crisis.

Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express interest in talks, state media from both sides said, in the first public engagement between the leaders after the US President offered to mediate.

Saudi Arabia led the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain in cutting ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of bankrolling Islamist extremist groups and of being too close to regional rival Iran. 

The crown prince “welcomed this desire,” the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) initially reported, adding “details will be announced after Saudi Arabia reaches an agreement with UAE and Bahrain and Egypt”. But the prospect of a thaw quickly died down after SPA accused Qatar’s state media of wrongly implying that Saudi Arabia had initiated the outreach.

“The contact was at the request of Qatar and its request for dialogue,” SPA said, citing a Saudi foreign ministry official. “What was published on the Qatar News Agency is a continuation of the distortion of the Qatari authority of the facts.”