From the Liveblog of
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Qatar emir skips Saudi-hosted Gulf summit amid boycott
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleQatar’s emir is skipping a Gulf summit hosted by Saudi Arabia, which has led a boycott of his country for more than a year.
Other leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council descended down a golden escalator and were greeted by Saudi King Salman ahead of today’s summit. Qatar sent a lower-ranking official.
GCC members Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut ties with Qatar in the summer of 2017 over its support for Islamist opposition groups that they view as terrorists.
Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani attended last year’s meeting in Kuwait, where the boycotting nations sent lower-level representatives.
Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Khalid Al Khalifa tweets that Sheikh Tamim should have accepted “the fair demands and been there at the summit.”
— AP
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