Saudi Crown Prince 'discusses Gulf crisis' with Kuwait Emir

Saudi Arabia's crown prince has met with the Kuwaiti Emir to reportedly discuss a diplomatic feud in the Gulf between Qatar and a Saudi-led bloc.
2 min read
01 October, 2018
Doha remains "open to dialogue" with the Saudis and its allies [Getty]

Saudi Arabia's crown prince has met with the Kuwaiti Emir to reportedly discuss a diplomatic feud in the Gulf between Qatar and a Saudi-led bloc.

Mohammed Bin Salman and Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah met on Sunday in Kuwait, Kuwaiti state-run media reported.

"The visit came during a critical stage passing through the region," the report said.

Citing diplomatic sources, Turkey's Anadolu news agency reported that the two sides held talks on the Gulf crisis.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt launched a blockade on Qatar last June, cutting diplomatic ties with Doha.

Sheikh Sabah has played a pivotal role in attempting to mediate a resolution to the blockade of Qatar, but efforts have so far failed because of the Saudi-led bloc's intransigence.

On Friday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brought the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Qatar together for the first time since the feud erupted.

At the start of a meeting with counterparts from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) along with allies Egypt and Jordan, Pompeo said that those present had "a shared interest in a wide range of security issues."

But speaking to reporters later, Qatar's foreign minister said there had been "no progress" in resolving the more than year-long spat.

He insisted that the Doha remained "open to dialogue" with the Saudis and its allies.

"We are grateful for the efforts President Donald Trump makes to try solving this crisis but the responses from the blockade countries are not positive," said Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.