When Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Kuwait March 5 for talks on the Gulf and the region, it was not just a courtesy stop on a tour that also featured consultations in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Doha.

Over the past two years, Kuwait has emerged as a critical and essential broker — and bridge — among an otherwise fractious Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) split by the blockage of Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain as well as Egypt.

Kuwait, which served as GCC chair last year, as well as Oman, which holds the chair now, have pursued policies that have sought to de-escalate multiple flashpoints, including preventing the blockade of Qatar from escalating into outright conflict, seeking a mediated solution, all the while holding together what remains of the GCC security structure.

From the start, Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, has emerged as a steady statesman and go-to leader during the Qatar crisis. He embarked on a frenetic round of shuttle diplomacy in the opening days of the crisis and, at a press conference with US President Donald Trump at the White House in September 2017, suggested that his efforts had successfully prevented military action. Sabah and senior members of the Kuwaiti government have continued to relay messages between the two sides to keep open an indirect channel of communication between the parties as the "hot" crisis in its opening days has settled into a prolonged face-off that has so far defied easy resolution.