Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, has received a written invitation from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to attend an annual Gulf Arab summit being held in Riyadh on Dec. 9, the Qatar News Agency said on Wednesday

Qatar is locked in a bitter dispute with Saudi Arabia that has fractured the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and it has not said what level of representation it will send to the gathering of heads of state seen by analysts as unlikely to bring a diplomatic breakthrough.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and non-GCC member Egypt have imposed diplomatic, trade and transport sanctions on Qatar since June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Doha denies the charge.

At last year’s GCC summit, held in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain sent ministers or deputy prime ministers, rather than heads of state.