Don’t Get Your Hopes Up About Middle East Rapprochement

Don’t Get Your Hopes Up About Middle East Rapprochement
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, right, greets Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani upon his arrival at the Red Sea city of Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, May 10, 2021 (AP photo by Bandar Aljaloud).

Editor’s note: This is the web version of our subscriber-only weekly newsletter, Middle East Memo, which takes a look at what’s happening, what’s being said and what’s on the horizon in the Middle East. Subscribe to receive it by email every Monday. If you’re already a subscriber, adjust your newsletter settings to receive it.

Talking is good, but how much should expectations and hopes be raised now that Middle East rivals are talking without necessarily putting a pause on their disputes? 

Friday saw the unveiling of a new “public display of diplomacy” in the broader region when an aide to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman tweeted a picture of three political heavyweights hanging out at the Red Sea in what appeared to be swimming trunks. 

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