Qatari emir not to join Gulf summit in Saudi Arabia

By Mehmet Nuri Ucar and Serdar Bitmez

DOHA

The Qatari emir will not join a Gulf summit to be held in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, a Qatari official told Anadolu Agency late Saturday.

The official, who asked not to be named, said that Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani won't be in the 39th Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Saudi Arabia and only state ministers will represent Qatar in this meeting.

Qatar News Agency (QNA) said in a story that an official invitation was sent to al-Thani by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz for this summit.

The invitation was presented to Sultan Bin Saad Al-Muraikhi, Qatar's State Minister for Foreign Affairs.

A six-nation bloc of oil-rich Arab Gulf states, the GCC is composed of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain Qatar.

In June of last year, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE Bahrain collectively severed ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

The Saudi-led axis also imposed an air/land/sea embargo on Qatar, which continues to vociferously deny the terror allegations.