Qatar Says Bahrain Violated Airspace as Summit Approaches

(Bloomberg) -- Qatar informed the United Nations that Bahraini fighter jets violated its airspace, less than two weeks before a meeting of Gulf leaders aimed at strengthening ties in the region.

The Gulf nation told the UN Security Council “about Bahraini military aircraft’s violations of Qatar’s airspace over its territorial waters” on Dec. 9, Qatar’s ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement Thursday. It was citing a letter its UN Ambassador Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani sent to Jerry Matjila, president of the Security Council for this month, and to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic, trade and transport links with Qatar in 2017, accusing the gas-rich country of maintaining close ties with Iran and supporting terrorism. Qatar denies the charges.

Read: Kuwait Says Gulf Arab Summit to Be Held Jan. 5 in Saudi Arabia

But talks of a potential breakthrough began to circulate earlier this month. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are close to a preliminary rapprochement that may not initially include the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, Bloomberg reported earlier this month.

Kuwait’s foreign minister said last week that a meeting of Gulf leaders was planned for Jan. 5 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital.

In a separate statement on Thursday, Bahrain said it’s looking forward to the summit, which “will lead to strengthening Gulf dialogue,” state-run BNA reported, citing Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.

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