The Gulf states reconsider their feud with Qatar

WALKING ONTOUAEUAEUAEGCCGCC a football pitch hardly seems an act of high diplomacy. But two and a half years into the embargo of Qatar by three Gulf neighbours—Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates ()—it may count as progress. The three had planned to boycott the annual Gulf Cup because it was being held in Doha, the capital of Qatar. In November, though, they changed their minds, and on December 2nd the Emiratis took the field against the Qataris. The Emiratis lost 4-2. Adding insult to injury, the defeat came on their national day, which marks the unification of several emirates into the . Still, the match ended amicably enough, a far cry from an Asian Cup tilt in January, when the victorious Qatari squad was pelted with shoes and bottles by the crowd in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the .The embargo, imposed in June 2017, has divided families, diverted planes and caused a deep rift in the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council (). Qatar refuses to comply with a list of demands from the Saudi-led camp, such as cutting ties with Islamist groups and closing Al Jazeera, a satellite news channel. But there are growing signs that some of the blockading states want to end the feud anyway. Apart from the football diplomacy, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have held quiet talks about a resolution. On December 10th Qatar’s prime minister flew to Saudi Arabia for a summit, the emirate’s highest-level representation in two years. No one expected it to produce a deal, but Qatar’s foreign minister said it broke a long “stalemate”.