Saudi Arabia appears ready to soften its blockade against Qatar to improve its relationship with the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden. White House senior adviser Jared Kushner is scheduled to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Saudi city of Neom this week, followed by a meeting with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir of Qatar. The talks with the crown prince will reportedly be aimed at resolving the three-year Saudi blockade on Qatar, as well as normalizing Saudi-Israeli ties and potential coordination with Iran. But Saudi Arabia is more interested in ensuring its good standing with the incoming Biden White House than in maintaining its close relationship with the lame-duck administration. Riyadh is thus most likely to give ground on the Qatar blockade, which Biden’s foreign policy team has also expressed concerns about....
