Russia’s reading on what’s at stake in Qatar crisis
Moscow has pricked up its ears as Qatar’s diplomacy problems grow more raucous.
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.
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have severed ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting Iran and financing jihadis. Doha denies both counts.
On June 5, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Qatar. Both leaders urged everyone involved to “develop compromise solutions in the interest of preserving peace and stability in the Persian Gulf region.”
