Qatar won’t be barred from Arab summit in Riyadh – Saudi prince

Qatar will not be barred from an Arab summit in Riyadh later this month, but the standoff between Doha and a Saudi-led, four-nation alliance could last a “long time,” Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said. “We will not accept any resolutions to the crisis [with Qatar] outside an Arab or a Gulf framework, but that does not mean we will bar Qatar from attending the upcoming Arab summit,” said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who flew to London Tuesday night at the end of a three-day visit to Egypt. The comments, made to Egyptian editors, were published Wednesday in the Al-Shorouk newspaper. He added the crisis with Qatar “could last for a long time,” comparing it to the US’s decades-long embargo on Cuba. Saudi Arabia sealed Qatar's only land border last June, and the four nations have cut off air and sea access, forcing Qatar to divert flights over Iran and transit goods through other ports. The prince also described Iran, Turkey and militant groups as the “contemporary triangle of evil,” AP reported.