Today, Qatar is stronger than it was a year ago. Within 24 hours of the imposition of the blockade, we quickly established new sources and alternate, more sustainable supply routes for basic goods, like food and medicine. In the weeks and months that followed, we signed new, long-term contracts for economic cooperation, at the same time accelerating plans to diversify our economy by diminishing our reliance on our hydrocarbon resources. Last October, months into the blockade, the International Monetary Fund reported that Qatar’s economy was the fastest growing in the Gulf.

Meanwhile, the Middle East remains in turmoil. The government of President Bashar al-Assad has consolidated power in Syria, shifting the regional and geopolitical landscape; besieged Palestinians in Gaza have risen up in protest, focusing new attention on the need for a workable peace plan between the Palestinians and the Israelis; and Yemen is entering its third year of war, with tens of thousands already dead and no end in sight. These issues are important to the people of the Arabian Peninsula, and all of them cry out for a united Arab voice.

Qatar believes that the stakes are too high, and the time too limited, to focus on differences between and among the Arab states. The administration in Washington clearly shares this view. My counterpart, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, has stressed the importance of Gulf unity. President Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to see the Gulf dispute resolved. All agree it is time for this sorry chapter in Gulf history to come to an end.

The blockade of Qatar — now widely viewed as instigated under false pretenses — has undermined the Middle East’s stability. By now it should be clear that there can be no “winners” in this dispute. It is therefore time for the blockading nations to abandon their delusions of victory, prioritize the security interests of the entire Middle East and end the blockade.