In historic turn, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman embraces Qatar emir
Prince Salman meets Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani at al-Ula
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman embraced Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, on the airport tarmac in Saudi Arabia as Gulf leaders signed a "solidarity and stability" deal on Tuesday.
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Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman opened the Gulf Arab summit at the historic city of Al-Ula as the prince took aim at Iran and lauded a deal towards ending a long-running dispute with Qatar.
"There is a desperate need today to unite our efforts to promote our region and to confront challenges that surround us, especially the threats posed by the Iranian regime's nuclear and ballistic missile programme and its plans for sabotage and destruction," Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said.
"These efforts ... led to the al-Ula agreement which will be signed at this blessed summit and which confirms Gulf, Arab and Islamic unity and stability," Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler added.
United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain had severed ties with Qatar in 2017 over allegations Doha supported terrorism which it stridently denied.
Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law who has been an active hand in various peace deals in the past few months attended the signing in Al-Ula.
Kuwaiti foreign minister Ahmad Nasser Al-Sabah had said on Monday the country has agreed to open the airspace and land and sea borders between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Qatar, starting from this evening" as the Gulf states moved to break the deadlock with Qatar.
Leaders of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council(GCC)signed two documents, the Al-Ula declaration and and a final communique. However, the contents of the document wasn't immediately released.