Qatar Taking Some Steps to Resolve Tensions, Saudi Official Says

(Bloomberg) -- Qatar has taken some steps toward resolving its tensions with its Gulf neighbors but must still do more, a senior Saudi official said in Washington.

Encouraging moves include Qatar’s passage of a law against financing terrorism, according to the official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain imposed an embargo on Qatar in June 2017 saying it needed to relinquish support for Islamist extremists and end cordial relations with Iran.

On other issues:

• Saudi Arabia has scaled back its military operations in Yemen after Houthi rebels aligned with Iran stopped firing ballistic missiles on the kingdom, the official said. The Saudi-led war in Yemen has led to a humanitarian catastrophe, according to the United Nations.
• The kingdom has a strong relationship with the Trump administration, with which it shares common objectives for the Gulf region, the official said. Fallout from the Saudi murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi has eased, the official asserted, because a trial is underway in the kingdom, which has recognized the killing shouldn’t have happened.
• Asked about U.S. charges against two former employees of Twitter Inc. and a Saudi national for helping the government in Riyadh spy on dissents, the official demurred, saying only that the Saudi government expects all of its citizens to abide by the laws of the countries in which they live.

To contact the reporter on this story: Glen Carey in Washington at gcarey8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Larry Liebert

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