UAE FM Says Rebuilding Trust With Doha May Take Time

United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash on Thursday addressed for the first time the historic agreement by Arab states to lift the embargo over Qatar, reached earlier this week. Appearing to pour some cold water on the deal, Gargash noted that “some issues are easier to fix and some others will take a longer time. … We have issues with rebuilding trust.” The foreign minister added that while issues like air travel, shipping and trade could resume within a week, restoring full diplomatic relations would take more time. On Tuesday, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain signed a deal at a summit hosted by Riyadh to end the boycott they imposed on Qatar in 2017 over its support of Iranian aggression in the region. The surprising détente was brokered by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, and according to reports was pushed by Saudi Arabia more enthusiastically than its Gulf neighbors.