Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain recall ambassadors from Qatar

On 5 March, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain issued a joint statement saying they were withdrawing their ambassadors from Qatar. Qatar’s refusal – so the statement said – to abide by the terms of an agreement signed by Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) member states more than three months before had forced them to make the decision, effective immediately.The agreement was said to have been signed in Riyadh on 23 November – the day that Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah and King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz Al-Saud took part in an unusual tripartite meeting in Riyadh, reportedly aimed at reconciling differences between Qatar and Saudi Arabia.