Turkey welcomes Saudi plans to open airspace to Qatar

Turkey on Monday welcomed the announcement that Saudi Arabia will reopen its borders and airspace to Qatar, but called for all sanctions on its ally Doha to be lifted.

More than three years after Riyadh led an alliance to isolate Doha, the Kuwaiti foreign minister on Monday announced Saudi's move on the eve of a six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) annual summit.

Ankara strongly backed Doha after the 2017 blockade and was at the forefront of nations to supply the Gulf state with food and services.

Turkey "welcomed" the decision on reopening the borders, the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement, adding it was "an important step towards resolving the dispute".

The ministry praised efforts by Kuwait and other international players to end the crisis.

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"Our wish is that this dispute will be completely and permanently resolved on the basis on mutual respect for countries' sovereignty and that other sanctions against the people of Qatar will be lifted as soon as possible," the statement said.

Saudi Arabia led a coalition of countries including the United Arab Emirates and Egypt which cut all diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar.