![GCC leaders pose for photos before the opening session of the 41st GCC summit in the northwestern Saudi city of Al-Ula on January 5, 2021 [Bandar al-Jaloud/handout via AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/000_8Y82N6.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
The blockade on Qatar may have a lasting impact beyond the Al-Ula declaration.
![Saudi Arabia's King Salman with GCC leaders pose for a photo during the Gulf Cooperation Council's 40th Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on December 10, 2019 [Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/55ada1a879d744ce82f985109bb59e6e_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
The WTO ruling in favour of Qatar’s claims against Saudi Arabia could push forward efforts for a reconciliation.
![Oman's Sultan Haitham receives Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif after his arrival to attend an official mourning ceremony for the late Sultan Qaboos, in Muscat, Oman on January 12 [AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/1e541458a9f84bcaba59154df68041f8_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Despite the US-Iran escalation, there seem to be more opportunities for engagement in the Gulf than a year ago.
![Turkish popular print: Mustafa Kemal Ataturk attacking the Greeks in Sekariae in 1922 [Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/6c9d9b167e6f4039b3e30317d24aa213_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
The end of World War I marked the beginning of a major transformation in Turkey and the Middle East.