The US is upping pressure on Saudi Arabia to restore relations with Qatar, a report said, as the kingdom comes under increasing international scrutiny for its role in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Washington's thrust is aimed at resolving the more than year-long political and economic isolation imposed on Qatar by Saudi Arabia and three other Arab states, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing three unnamed sources said to be familiar with the US efforts.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates severed political and economic ties with Qatar in June 2017, imposing an unjust siege. 

Bin Salman is under heavy pressure over his possible role in the assassination of Khashoggi inside Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

Analysts have suggested that the ongoing fallout over the case, which has attracted international media and intense political scrutiny, may result in Saudi Arabia being pressured into changing course in a number of foreign policy areas, including the blockade of Qatar.

According to one of the sources contacted by Bloomberg, US President Donald Trump's administration is also pushing for Saudi officials to resolve the ongoing war in Yemen, a conflict which has sparked the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The conflict in Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country, began with the 2014 takeover of the capital, Sanaa, by Houthi rebels, who toppled the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Share This Post