UAE official lauds efforts to strengthen Gulf unity

The United Arab Emirates appreciates efforts by Kuwait and the United States to strengthen Gulf Arab unity, a senior Emirati official said on Tuesday in a reference to a row with Qatar that Washington says hampers a united Gulf front against Iran. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia had said on Friday that progress had been made towards resolving the dispute that has seen Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt sever diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Qatar since mid-2017.

The United Arab Emirates appreciates efforts by Kuwait and the United States to strengthen Gulf Arab unity, a senior Emirati official said on Tuesday in a reference to a row with Qatar that Washington says hampers a united Gulf front against Iran.

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia had said on Friday that progress had been made towards resolving the dispute that has seen Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt sever diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Qatar since mid-2017. In the first public comment by the UAE on the matter, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash in a Twitter post also praised Riyadh's "good endeavours on behalf of the four states" and said the UAE looked forward to a "successful" Gulf Arab summit, which is due to take place this month.

Qatar's emir has not attended the annual summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council since 2017 although his premier was present at last year's gathering, that made no public mention of the dispute. The foreign ministers of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have not provided specific details on the recent progress, but a source in Washington, which along with Kuwait has worked to end the rift, has told Reuters that a tentative deal was reached by the parties and that it could be signed in a few weeks.

All countries involved are U.S. allies. Qatar hosts the region's largest U.S. military base, Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, and Saudi Arabia and the UAE host U.S. troops. The boycotting nations accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism. Qatar denies the charge and says the embargo aims to undermine its sovereignty.