Russia clearly wants to remain neutral in the conflict among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, as evidenced by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's three-day trip this week to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The minister not only visited states representing both sides of the conflict, he also went to Kuwait to express Russian support for that country's efforts as a mediator.

The beginning of the current tensions between Qatar and Saudi Arabia was an unpleasant surprise for Russia. While Moscow had no illusions regarding political friction among GCC members, it could not have expected the friction to lead the Arab monarchies to such a deep crisis. Under these circumstances, the Kremlin made the only reasonable choice: It stayed neutral and offered its services as a mediator. Picking one side would damage Russia's relations with the other, and Moscow wants to remain in good standing with all GCC members.

Russian interests in keeping good relations with Saudi Arabia, which Lavrov said he would visit in early September, are quite obvious and largely related to economic matters. Moscow and Riyadh are trying to stabilize prices in the oil market. In April, the speaker of the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, Valentina Matvienko, said that by the beginning of 2018, Moscow and Riyadh plan to implement several important projects costing as much as $3 billion. In July, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak confirmed Moscow still has a big appetite for joint oil and gas projects with the Saudis. On one hand, Russia promotes establishing joint scientific centers that would work on new technologies in drilling, oil servicing and oil transportation. On the other hand, it also seeks to open the Saudi market for Russian oil drilling and service companies. In addition, the Kremlin hopes to sell Riyadh arms and military equipment. Russia is well aware of Saudi Arabia's political influence in the region and the Muslim world, and Moscow would also like to find common language with the Saudis on the situation in Syria. All these motives are enough to keep Russia interested in the dialogue with Saudi Arabia, but not enough to make the Kremlin take Riyadh’s side in the conflict with Qatar.

From 2009 to 2015, Russia’s relations with Qatar were not easy. For almost six years, Qatar was an "enfant terrible" of the Middle East for Russia. Doha heavily criticized Moscow for its support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Qatar's TV channels openly called Putin “the dictator of the 21st century” and even labeled Russia the main enemy of the Muslim world. In 2012, Russian Ambassador to Qatar Vladimir Titorenko was assaulted at the Doha airport. Finally, Doha actively confronted Moscow’s efforts to dominate at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum.