In June 2017, Saudi Arabia and its allies, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar and imposed a naval, air and land blockade on the country.
The quartet accused Doha of being too close to Iran and supporting terrorist groups. Qatar has vehemently denied the allegations and accused its neighbours of attacking its sovereignty.
More than three years on, Qatar has largely managed to weather the blockade, which has lapsed into a deadlock. However, the latest moves of rapprochement by Saudi Arabia point to an ending of the impasse.
A Saudi official hinted on Friday the kingdom was moving forward with a plan to dig a canal that would turn the neighbouring Qatari peninsula into an island, amid a diplomatic feud between the Gulf nations.
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Part of the canal, which would cost up to 2.8 billion riyals ($750m), would be reserved for a nuclear waste facility, it said.