Qatar’s emir skipped a summit in Saudi Arabia on Sunday with fellow Arab Gulf leaders whose boycott of the small but energy-flush neighbor has sparked a major regional diplomatic row.

Riyadh is hosting the annual gathering as crises rumble on over the 18-month-old dispute with Doha, the war on Yemen and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul.

The regional powerhouse had invited Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to attend the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council talks, but the foreign ministry in Doha said he would not go.

Instead Qatar was represented by the minister of state for foreign affairs, Sultan al-Muraikhi, it said.

Source: Agencies