Qatar and Saudi Arabia are close to striking a preliminary agreement to end a dispute that has pitted the Gulf neighbours against each other for more than three years, sources told Al Jazeera.
The expected deal comes after United States President Donald Trump’s adviser Jared Kushner arrived in the Gulf region as part of a last-ditch effort to resolve the Gulf crisis, before the Trump administration leaves office in January.
Kushner’s tour included meetings with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh earlier this week, and with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in Doha on Wednesday. Kushner has since left Qatar, Al Jazeera has learned.
On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) quoted US officials as saying that the main focus of the talks would be to resolve a dispute over allowing Qatari planes to fly through the airspace of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Bloomberg reported on that the imminent agreement would not involve the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, which together with Saudi Arabia formed a quartet of blockading countries against Qatar.
In June 2017, the quartet cut off diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar and imposed a land, sea and air embargo on the Gulf state, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism and having ties with Iran that were deemed too close.
Doha has repeatedly rejected the accusations as baseless while highlighting its readiness for dialogue.
As the price for lifting the blockade, the four nations set a 13-point ultimatum for Qatar, which included shutting down Al Jazeera Media Network.