A light shining through a three-year-long tunnel could be seen in December 2020 and more clearly in the new year. On Tuesday 5 January 2021, the Gulf Crisis came to an end with the four neighbors lifting their blockade and resuming relations.
Professor Sultan Barakat, speaking to Al Jazeera one day before the signing of the Al-Ula declaration, pointed to Qatar's resilience in the wake of the blockade stating that "over the last few years, the Qataris have managed to learn to live with the blockade and that has helped them discover better ways of living and more efficient ways of sustaining their economy and managing their affairs," Barakat told Al Jazeera one day before the signing of the Al-Ula declaration.
Referring to the 13 demands issued, he said it "resulted in an extremely resilient country that has demonstrated itself in the lifting of the blockade without them having to address the totally irrational 13 conditions."
Tensions between Qatar and its neighbors split open in the summer of 2017 when Saudi Arabia alongside the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic, trade and travel ties. The quartet countries accused Doha of backing radical Islamist movements and of cozying up to Iran, a long-time regional rival of Saudi Arabia.
13 demands were set out for Qatar as a condition for the lifting of the blockade, including the closure of the Al Jazeera News Network, a Turkish military base in Qatar and the minimization of relations with Iran. The accusations were refuted by Qatar and the demands denied, triggering the three-year embargo. Leaders from Qatar stated the demands undermined the sovereignty of the state.