The diplomatic row around Qatar that is flaring up into something more serious caught many in Russia by surprise. Although disсontent with a number of Doha’s activities has been smoldering in the region for a while, it didn’t appear on most Russian experts’ radar screens largely because Russia didn’t expect the rivalry for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leadership to affect Moscow policies all that much.
Now that the crisis threatens to spill over to the rest of the Middle East, Moscow is adopting a more watchful stance.
