Gulf Nations, İncluding Qatar, To 'Support Egypt': Riyadh

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz said Wednesday that Gulf leaders, including those of Qatar, had agreed to "support Egypt," signaling a rapprochement with Doha following months of rift over the latter's criticisms of Egypt's army-backed government.



In a statement issued by the royal court, King Abdullah said that Gulf leaders who met in Riyadh earlier this week had agreed to "stand by Egypt and look forward to a new phase of consensus and accord."



King Abdullah further urged Egypt to work for "the success of this new phase of Arab solidarity."



He also called on Arab media figures to support the rapprochement, which, he said, was aimed at "ending disagreements, no matter the reasons."



It was the first time for a Gulf country to explicitly address the rift with Qatar over developments in Egypt.



Following the meeting, the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council announced that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain would return their respective ambassadors to Doha.



It will be the first time for the diplomats' to return since their governments collectively pulled them out of Qatar in March.



The Gulf leaders meeting also agreed to hold the Gulf Cooperation Council Summit, slated for December, in Doha, according to schedule.



The Gulf trio has accused Doha of interfering in their collective affairs by breaching a 2013 security agreement.



In March, the three states collectively pulled their ambassadors from Doha claiming that Qatar had violated a 2013 security pact and interfered in their internal affairs.



Many observers, however, linked the move to Doha's perceived support for ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi and the latter's embattled Muslim Brotherhood group.



Following Morsi's ouster and imprisonment by the Egyptian army last year, a number of his supporters fled to Qatar – which had been a key ally of the Morsi administration – amid a harsh crackdown on dissent by Egypt's new army-backed rulers.



Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, on the other hand, had been the first two Arab countries to welcome Morsi's ouster by the army last year following opposition protests.



Last December, Egypt's army-installed interim government designated the Brotherhood a "terrorist" group, with Saudi Arabia following suit three months later.



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