As Moscow works intensively to make sure Russia’s interests are secured in the Syrian puzzle, its general foreign policy toward Damascus is still meeting resistance in some parts of the region, namely, from countries within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The list of mutual claims is rather long. Both parties pursue diverging interests and support opposing forces in the region. Both perceive each other as major troublemakers in the region. Moscow labels Saudi Arabia and Qatar as main sponsors of terrorism in the region, while the Russian Foreign Ministry has long argued that the Gulf monarchies “are trying to achieve their geopolitical goals at the expense of the blood and suffering of the Syrian people." In turn, the Gulf states use the same type of language: “Blood of Syrian civilians is on Russia’s hands.”
