CAIRO: Saudi Arabia’s crown prince says Qatar will not be barred from an Arab summit in Riyadh later this month, but predicted the standoff with Doha could last a long time.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s comments were made to local editors during a visit to Egypt this week and published on Wednesday in the independent Al-Shorouk newspaper.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar in June, accusing the tiny but super-rich Gulf state of supporting militant groups and forging close ties with Iran. The prince also described Iran, Turkey and militant groups as the “contemporary triangle of evil”. He said Saudi Arabia was seeking to end the close relations between Iran on the one hand and Russia and Syria on the other. He also accused Turkey of trying to reinstate the Caliphate.

His reported comments reflect Saudi Arabia’s deep suspicion of President Tayyip Erdogan, whose ruling AK Party has its roots in Islamist politics and who has allied his country with Qatar in its dispute with Saudi Arabia.

Al-Shorouk quoted Prince Mohammed as saying “the contemporary triangle of evil comprises Iran, Turkey and extremist religious groups”.

He said the dispute with Qatar could be long-lasting, comparing it to the US embargo of Cuba imposed 60 years ago, but played down its impact, dismiss-ing the Gulf emirate as “smaller than a Cairo street”.

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2018