Qatar-Gulf crisis: All the latest updates

Six months ago, an air, sea and land blockade was imposed on Qatar by neighbouring countries. Here are the latest developments as of Thursday, December 7:

• Macron visits Al-Udeid air base. French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Qatar and visited the Al-Udeid Air Base, shows a video published by AFP on Thursday.

• Summit closes one day early. The GCC summit was concluded on Tuesday, instead of Wednesday as originally planned, and all delegations left after the closed session.

• Although it will be Oman's turn to host next year's GCC summit, Omani Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Alawi said on Wednesday that the summit will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

• Kuwaiti emir says GCC structure might have to change. The structure of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council may have to change in the near future to "have mechanisms to better face challenges", Sheikh Sabah said on Tuesday. 

• The Kuwaiti emir referenced the possibility of setting up a task force to help deal with future rifts within the GCC.

• The Kuwaiti leader said his country will continue mediating in the dispute. "Our meeting today is a reason to continue the mediation, which fulfills the ambitions of our people," Sheikh Sabah said. 

• 'Future of GCC in doubt'. Commenting on concerns about the current state of the GCC, Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal, reporting from Kuwait City on Tuesday, said the council's future "is very much in doubt" as a result of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain continuing to "rebuff efforts by Kuwait to try and find some sort of mediation to the crisis".

• Our correspondent added that despite assurances given to the Kuwaitis that high-level delegates would be sent to the summit, "Saudi Arabia has chosen to send not even a member of the royal family but their foreign minister. Bahrain has sent a third-rate politician, their deputy prime minister, and the UAE hasn't sent a significant minister either."

• Delegations arrive in Kuwait. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar's emir, has arrived at the GCC summit in Kuwait on Tuesday.

• Sayyid Fahad bin Mahmood al-Said, Oman's deputy prime minister, has arrived at the GCC summit. He told reporters upon arrival that Oman "profoundly expresses its appreciation of the efforts of Kuwait and its leadership to bridge the gap, coordinate positions and align viewpoints amongst member states in order to address all developments," according to the Qatar News Agency. Oman's ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, has given the efforts his "full backing", he added.

• The Saudi delegation to the GCC summit, which will now be concluding one day earlier, will be led by Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubair. King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will not attend.

• UAE and Saudi Arabia start a separate partnership. United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that it had formed a new economic and military partnership with Saudi Arabia separate from the GCC.

• GCC summit begins. Kuwait's News Agency reported the beginning of the 144th GCC foreign ministers meeting at the Bayan Palace in Kuwait City on Monday.

• The 38^th GCC summit will begin in Kuwait City on Tuesday as a blockade by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) against member state Qatar continues, six months on.

• A press conference has been scheduled for 10:30am local time (07:30 GMT) on Wednesday, December 6.

• Attendees are expected to arrive at the summit from 11:30am local time (08:30 GMT).

• Only Qatar and Oman have so far confirmed their participation in the summit. Qatar said Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir, will attend. Oman said it will be represented by a high-level delegation.
  

• Citing a diplomatic source, the Anadolu news agency said that Saudi Arabia's King Salman will also attend the GCC summit, while  Oman 's News Agency said that its Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahad bin Mahmood al-Said will attend the summit instead of Sultan Qaboos.

• The talks were attended by Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir, Omani Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yousef bin Alawi, Bahrain's Assistant Foreign Minister Abdullah Al-Dosari, the UAE's State Minister Anwar Qarqash and Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Thani.

• Qatar and Saudi to participate in the summit. "I will attend the ministerial council tomorrow and the emir will attend the summit," news agencies quoted Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani as saying on Sunday at a forum in Doha.

• UAE: Summit unlikely to end crisis: "The reality is that the [GCC] summit will not bring a resolution to the Qatari crisis but nor is it intended to resolve disputes," reads a commentary published on Sunday by the state-run WAM news agency.

• The commentary also suggested that UAE representatives will attend the summit out of respect for Kuwait's emir, adding that "respect for his status and his wisdom has the power to bring countries together."

For previous developments click here