'All Gulf leaders' to attend GCC summit in Saudi Arabia this week
The Saudi-led quartet subsequently forced Qatari residents to leave their countries, closed their airspace to Qatari aircraft, and sealed their borders and ports, separating some mixed-nationality families.
In December, the Saudi cabinet said that it "wished for a successful summit to enhance joint action and enhanced cooperation between the country members", according to a statement on the official Saudi Press Agency.
It follows earlier comments from Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan who said that a resolution was in sight.
Egypt and the UAE have since given their public support to the negotiations, initially between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Diplomatic sources say that Abu Dhabi has been more reluctant to compromise.
According to a Gulf official close to the negotiations, it is unlikely the summit will deliver a comprehensive agreement but rather result in trust-building measures, including the possibility of opening up airspace to Qatari airliners.
The potential thaw comes ahead of the 20 January inauguration of Joe Biden as US president, who is expected to welcome the resolution of a row which has undercut US efforts to rein in its arch-enemy Iran.
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