GCC summit postponed amid disagreement over reconciliation with Qatar

GCC summit postponed amid disagreement over reconciliation with Qatar

DUBAI--Informed sources revealed to The Arab Weekly on Wednesday that the annual Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit has been postponed until January after efforts to reach a final agreement with Qatar on the terms of reconciliation failed.

The United States and Kuwait are working towards ending a dispute that prompted Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to cut diplomatic and commercial ties with Qatar in June 2017. However, reaching a final deal will likely take a long time.

At the beginning of this month, Kuwait announced significant progress towards resolving the Arab Gulf dispute that has continued since mid-2017.

Moves towards resolving the dispute, which prompted Saudi Arabia and its allies to sever diplomatic, trade and travel links with Qatar, multiplied in recent weeks following Riyadh's announcement earlier this month that a final solution is within reach.

The other countries involved in the dispute –the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain — were more reserved about the mediation efforts.

Kuwait, and particularly the US, observers say, are hoping to unite the Arab Gulf states in the face of Iran's threat to regional and international stability.

Four sources familiar with the negotiations previously said they expected a declaration to be issued on the issue in conjunction