RIYADH: The Gulf crisis, which has seen Qatar isolated by Saudi Arabia and its allies, is not on the table at the upcoming meeting of Arab League states, Riyadh’s foreign minister said Thursday.

“The solution of Qatar will be within the GCC,” or the six-state Gulf Coope­ra­tion Council, Foreign Min­i­s­­ter Adel al-Jubeir told reporters in Riyadh ahead of the Arab Summit.

He was responding to a question on whether the crisis was on the agenda at the meeting on Sunday, which is hosted by Saudi Arabia and joins 21 of the 22 Arab League member states.

Syria is technically a member of the league but has been suspended from the summit since 2011 over the government’s role in the war there. Qatar has confirmed its attendance at the Saudi summit.

The 10-month Gulf crisis pits Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain against Qatar. It is the worst crisis to ever hit the Gulf, home to both the world’s largest exporters of oil and liquified natural gas — Saudi Arabia and Qatar respectively.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2018