The Saudi king reopened the border to allow Qataris to attend Hajj, but some are still being turned away.

Almost three months after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has appeared to offer a small step towards reconciliation.

King Salman ordered the reopening of the border with Qatar to Hajj pilgrims on Thursday.

The invitation comes a day after the United States described the Gulf crisis as being at a stalemate.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani welcomed the move, but said it was a "politically-motivated decision".

In reality, at the border crossing, some Qataris are still not being allowed to make the journey.

What will it take to restore trust between sparring Arab neighbours?

Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra

Guests:

Ibrahim Fraihat, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution and Humanitarian Studies, Doha Institute.

Maysam Behravesh, Political Science PhD student, Lund University

Arwa Ibrahim, news editor, Middle East Eye

Source: Al Jazeera