Saudis open border to Qatar pilgrims
Saudi Arabia yesterday ordered the reopening of its border with Qatar to Muslim pilgrims, a move which Doha said was welcome but too little to heal relations between the feuding Gulf neighbours.
The Salwa border crossing, also known as Abu Samrah, a key passage for Muslims on the annual hajj pilgrimage to Makkah, has been closed since June in a diplomatic crisis that saw Riyadh cut ties with Doha over accusations the emirate supported Islamist extremists.
Qatar has denied the allegation and in turn accused Riyadh of restricting its citizens' right to make the hajj, or annual pilgrimage to Makkah, the holiest site in Islam, located in western Saudi Arabia.
Saudi King Salman authorised "the entry of Qatari pilgrims to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through Salwa border crossing to perform hajj, and to allow all Qatari nationals who wish to enter for hajj without electronic permits", state news agency SPA announced.
He also ordered that private jets belonging to Saudi airlines be sent to Doha airport "to bring all Qatari pilgrims at his expense".
Qatar's foreign minister welcomed the decision but lashed out at Riyadh's ongoing "politicisation" of religious freedoms.
"Regardless of the manner in which pilgrims from Qatar or living in Qatar were banned from the pilgrimage, which was politically motivated, and the manner in which they were subsequently permitted to make the pilgrimage, which was also politicised and which was announced with other goals in mind... the government of Qatar welcomes the decision and will respond positively," Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told a press conference in Stockholm.
"What matters to us is the bottom line, which is that our citizens now have a way to attend the hajj, and we uphold our demand that hajj be spared politicisation and remain separate from our political issues."
The hajj, a pillar of Islam that capable Muslims must perform at least once, is to take place this year at the start of September and it is expected to draw around two million Muslims from around the world.
RIGHT TO PILGRIMAGE
On June 5, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates severed diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar in what has emerged as the worst political crisis to grip the region in decades.
The Saudi decision to reopen the frontier for Qatari pilgrims came shortly after the kingdom's powerful Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Qatari envoy Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali bin Abdullah bin Jassim al-Thani, a member of Qatar's ruling dynasty.
It was the first public high-level encounter between the nations since the crisis erupted.
The Qatari foreign minister, however, said Sheikh Abdullah had acted on a "personal initiative" by meeting the crown prince on Wednesday in the Saudi city of Jeddah and not on behalf of the Doha government.
The decision also came after SPA reported that Crown Prince Mohammed had received a phone call from US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has sought repeatedly to defuse the regional crisis.
Saudi Arabia last month said Qatari pilgrims would be allowed to enter the kingdom for hajj this year but imposed several travel restrictions, including flying in only on airlines approved by Riyadh.
Doha has accused Riyadh of jeopardising the pilgrimage to Makkah by refusing to guarantee the safety of Qatari citizens.
"We hope that the Saudi authorities cooperate with our government agencies to ensure the security of the Qatari people," the foreign minister said in Stockholm.
Analysts cautioned yesterday that the diplomatic crisis was far from over.
"This is a goodwill gesture towards the Qatari people and not a breakthrough with the Qatari" government, Ali Shihabi of Washington-based think-tank Arabia Foundation said on Twitter, referring to the border reopening.