Arab countries are breaking off relations with Qatar. The reason was Qatar's position on Iran - for the created "Middle Eastern NATO" Iran is a strategic enemy, and therefore anyone who hesitates, and especially supports the enemy, becomes its allies. However, this is a reason. The accusation brought forward is the standard and, most importantly, completely unmistakable formulation of support for local regional terrorism. Such a formulation in the region can be safely presented through one, and it will be the pure truth. Qatar was accused by those who themselves actively use the services and support terrorists.
In reality, of course, the situation is much more complicated. The Qatari elite (partly forced, partly on their own) joined the global project, expecting to occupy a small but important place. Accordingly, Qatar immediately became an enemy of most Arab regimes oriented towards the US imperial republican elite. This was not the case before the Arab Spring. special significance, but during the Arab Spring, especially its first stage, the stability of the region was compromised by the Muslim brothers, who were nurtured and supported by Qatar. Secretary of State Clinton relied on moderate Islamists, whom she believed to be “Ikhwan Muslims,” but the events of the Spring followed their own internal logic, and the project of Islamization of the region under the leadership of the “Muslim Brotherhood” expanded due to other competing projects of more radical Islamization - the Al-Muslim project. Qayed" and then the Islamic State. And in this fight, the “brothers” and Qatar lost even under Obama.
Clinton's main mistake was that she was unable to carry out the "acute phase" of the Arab Spring in a short time. That is why Spring began to radicalize very quickly, and the “brothers” who started it became outsiders of the process. Moreover, some of the “brothers” and those who joined them at the first stage themselves became radicalized - and now a number of groups of the “Muslim Brotherhood” have gone over to the side of the jihadists - either Al-Qaeda or IS in general. Qatar even supports such groups - say, the notorious Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which blew up our plane over Sinai. But in general, by 13, Qatar lost - and as an admission of loss, Emir Hamad al-Thani resigned from his post.
However, Qatar became part of the globalists' circle, and while Obama was in power, it was untouched. Now everyone offended by him has decided to answer for everything.
In this situation, Russian politics is interesting. We, having placed our bets on Qatar and began to actively be friends with it (even despite Qatar’s direct involvement in the death of our citizens in Sinai), again bet on the wrong person. We know how to choose allies; we have no equal here. Current government managed to quarrel with the whole world, but even rare allies are just as outcasts.
The United States is trying to reconcile everyone, but the issue here is not charity. Most likely, Qatar will be asked to reorient itself to the “right guys” and choose the light side of the Force. And then all his past sins will be forgiven.
Another underlying reason for the conflict around Qatar is, of course, the ongoing redistribution of gas markets. Here, without any doubt, the interest of the United States can be traced, and Trump, who guaranteed maximum preferences for his oil and gas industry, looks more than interested.
Qatar, exporting gas in the form of LNG, does not depend on transit countries (although it experiences a serious political dependence on the countries that control the key straits - Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb, Suez Canal and the Strait of Molluk). The geography of Qatari gas supplies is wide, but the main supplies are Southeast Asia, Europe and the LAS countries. For example, Egypt (which broke diplomatic relations with Qatar among the six Arab League countries) imports about 850 million cubic meters of gas from Qatar - in no small part as payment for the use of the Suez Canal. This is a major boost for Egypt's ailing economy, but principles are worth more than money. Qatar's support for the Muslim Brotherhood is a greater risk for Egypt than a cutoff in supplies. The UAE, one of the six, imports about 200 million cubic meters.
The US introduced its first liquefaction terminal last year, and will introduce a whole series of terminals on both coasts by 2018. They are almost ready to supply gas to European and Asian directions. In addition, the Australian and Indonesian LNG programs are reaching their design capacity, which means it’s time to clear the site.
Qatar will not be able to reorient itself towards the US imperial elite - in this format it will significantly reduce its status and will be forced to lose most of its long-term plans development. Therefore, Trump faces the task not so much of reorienting Qatar towards himself, but of pushing it back in development to such an extent that even after the globalist democrats return to power, they would no longer be able to count on the At-Thani dynasty as their resource in the region.
I’m already reading bloodthirsty dreams about how the Arab League countries will organize a military attack on Doha, bomb terminals and similar nonsense. A much more serious blow to Qatar would be to cut it off from markets, primarily European. More serious in that it is more systemic and tangible. If Qatar's gas industry collapses - and Qatar's dumping policy gas market assumes low profitability and the need to fully utilize capacity - this will quickly lead to bankruptcy. And this is much more serious than even carpet bombing, although, of course, much less spectacular.
And again about Qatar. The topic is actually much more serious and complex than just news. It has its own backstory, is multi-layered and multi-level. And therefore it is not so simple both for presentation and for understanding. In addition, within this topic there is a place for evaluation Russian politics in the Middle East - in fact, the topic of our tender friendship with Qatar is perfectly suited to describe the absolute insanity of the Putin regime in foreign policy generally. It is possible that it would be more correct to record a program about what is happening, and its volume is such that it may not be possible to complete it in one sitting.
If we approach the topic in a framework, we are now seeing an intensification of the struggle between Islamist projects that are competing in the Middle East today. Fundamentally different from each other are no less, but four openly Islamist projects, plus a conservative one scenario plan the region's old elites are opposed to all four projects. This creates extreme, as they say, turbulence in the Middle East last years. And the only way out for relative pacification is the liquidation of several projects with a view to survival and the subsequent less fierce competition of two, maximum three of them.
Qatar, supporting the project of the Muslim Brothers, is actually trying to implement a project of soft Islamization of the region, and Islamization with a modernist slant. In this sense, the Iranian project is closest to Qatar, since fundamentalist Iran, oddly enough, also solves the problem of modernization, and therefore largely balances the relationship between the desire for stability, which is expressed in the clerical basis of its regime, and renewal. Such projects are close, if not in essence, then in spirit, to the projects of the globalists, although they strictly oppose them ideologically and culturally. It is not surprising that Qatar became a tool of the State Department under Clinton during the Arab Spring, and Iran still managed to come to an agreement with Obama.
These two projects compete fiercely with the others - the two jihadist projects of Al-Qaeda and ISIS and with the conservative project of the old elites of the region to return to previous relationships and balances. And again, it is not surprising that Iran is at war with IS, while Qatar supports IS: Qatar is trying to use IS in the fight against Al-Qaeda, which is an instrument of Saudi Arabia. Iran is deprived of such an opportunity, since it is forced to defend the statehood of Iraq as its frontier. It is only Putin’s Russia that is capable of not giving a damn about the fact that Ukraine has become a hostile state, thereby moving the belt of hostility towards itself by a good thousand kilometers. Iran is concerned about its security, and therefore will not allow a hostile entity to exist on its borders.
The diplomatic scandal and the sanctions imposed against Qatar by six Arab countries (precisely against that same traditionalist elite) are an intensification of the struggle between two competing development projects (the Saudi project in this case is rather a project of stagnation). The aggravation is caused both by fundamental reasons and by Trump’s go-ahead - “it’s possible.” This means that even if the acute phase passes relatively quickly, the causes of the conflict cannot be easily removed - Qatar has no other development options other than inclusion in the global project. In any other case, he leaves the stage due to a whole list of circumstances. He cannot choose which project to join - he has no chance in all the others. This means the conflict will continue.
Here it becomes obvious why Russia’s policy of friendship with Qatar looks like cretinism. Russia cannot today be included in a global project. That is, it can - but only in the position of a food resource. In the global project, all resource-producing countries become krill; they have no future in it. Therefore, participation in global projects is possible for Russia - but only after its own deep modernization, the creation of a competitive economy (or several clearly competitive industries), and only with such baggage can it integrate into the global division of labor into more high level than the level of food. Qatar, for example, has such a project - it is developing a powerful logistics hub capable of becoming service center for three global projects - TTIP, TPP and the Silk Road. Moreover, it develops without fools and Putin’s Manilovism. Our only Russian project - the EAEU - is at this stage closed copper basin. Guess, thanks to whose wise policy.
As a result, Russia, even compared to Qatar, looks like food. Already for him. And our tender friendship with him is extremely dangerous - just as the friendship of a shrimp and a sperm whale is dangerous. Instead of rapidly modernizing its own, Putin’s Russia is letting itself be used. True, on TV this is called “partnership”, but in the case of Qatar it is a partnership in secondary roles. Actually, what else can you expect from bandits if not looking for a roof. Qatar has become just a roof for our bandits - an attempt to fit into someone else’s project, where the mother of the emir, Sheikh Moza, will work for us. On your own own project The Kremlin no longer has intelligence.
PS. A well-known example. Rosneft ownership structure. 19.5% - Qatari property. This is a visible representation of what "food resource" means.
BUSINESS Online experts on why six Arab countries are making the seventh a pariah to the delight of oil traders
The severance of diplomatic relations between six Arab states and Qatar occurred immediately after the Middle East tour of Donald Trump, who issued an unspoken call: “Everyone to fight terrorism.” BUSINESS Online experts note that the blow that hit official Doha may in fact be addressed to Iran, but it is most likely connected with the intrigues of the royal houses of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
WHO PUT A PUSHPICK UNDER UNCLE SAM?
Six Arab countries accused the seventh of sponsoring international terrorism. From the outside, it looks like a situation familiar to everyone from childhood: a teacher comes into the classroom and sternly asks who planted it on him. push pin. The forest of hands points to the imaginary culprit lurking in the corner: everyone who put buttons and brimstone under their teacher confidently and loudly shouts: “It’s him! He did it! The same thing has now happened to the Arab state of Qatar: it was he, according to the Saudis and their friends, who placed a large pushpin under Uncle Sam. By the way, Uncle Sam himself, represented by the President of the United States Donald Trump I just recently visited the “class”, that is, the Middle East. In his May tour, as experts now suggest, Trump not only outlined a route from Saudi Arabia to Israel and further to Sicily, but also entered into certain agreements regarding who is now considered “extreme.” We agreed on Qatar.
Officially, this information looks like this: the Kingdom of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United United Arab Emirates(UAE), Yemen, Libya and the Maldives announced on June 5 the severance of diplomatic relations with the Emirate of Qatar. Reason: “continuing actions on the part of the State of Qatar aimed at destabilizing the situation, interfering in internal affairs, inciting the media, supporting terrorism and providing financial assistance groups associated with Iran." In the harshness of their formulations, the friendly six even slightly outdid Uncle Sam, who is neither Qatar nor the ruling emir there Tamim bin Hamad al Thani I have not yet been listed as a sponsor of terrorism. IN official list The US State Department, containing a list of adherents of world evil, lists only Iran, Sudan and Syria. However, the “six” is just a “six” to guess what is on the owner’s tongue.
Bahrain was the first to intervene, posting a statement on the website of its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was partially quoted above. In addition, the Kingdom's Foreign Ministry announced the closure of sea and air communications with Qatar in the next 24 hours and demanded that Qatari diplomats leave the territory of their state within 48 hours. Ordinary Qataris have the right to a short reprieve: they were obliged to completely clear the kingdom of their presence in 14 days and not return again: they would be denied entry. Residents of Bahrain are also prohibited from visiting Qatar from this day on.
In the harshness of their formulations, the friendly six even slightly outdid Uncle Sam, who has not yet listed either Qatar or the ruling emir there, Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, as sponsors of terrorism.Photo: kremlin.ru
The capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, as befits a respectable royal house, did not push forward and took a short pause after Bahrain. However, the Saudi statement, which appeared on Twitter from the local Ministry of Foreign Affairs, largely repeated its colleagues in the six: “The Saudi Arabian authorities, taking advantage of their sovereign right guaranteed by international law, decided to sever diplomatic relations with the state of Qatar to protect the security of their country from the threat of terrorism and extremism." To this, Riyadh added measures similar to Bahrain - “on the closure of air, sea and land border terminals, as well as a ban on transit, air traffic and the use of the territorial waters of the kingdom by Qatar.” The recall of diplomats from the Qatari capital Doha, entry ban, etc. are attached to this statement. An exception is made only for Muslim pilgrims seeking to visit Mecca and Medina.
After Saudi Arabia, statements poured in like a cornucopia. Egypt accused Qatar of spreading the ideology of the terrorist groups Al-Qaeda and Daesh, banned in the Russian Federation, supporting terrorist attacks in the Sinai and continuing interference in its internal affairs. Also, official Cairo could not help but recall Doha’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood ( terrorist organization banned in Russia— approx. ed.), which, as we know, left a noticeable mark on modern Egyptian history and even a short time who have been in power.
The UAE, distributing a statement about the break with Qatar, was original in only one thing: in affirming its commitment to the Gulf Cooperation Council system (GCC, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia) “in the matter of maintaining the stability and security of the countries- members." Yemen and Libya, supporting the Saudis and the UAE, started talking about extremist groups and the “threat to national security the entire Arab world." Thus, the magnificent six formed and declared a boycott of Qatar.
In the Arab world, Qatar is considered one of the richest oil states, having about $100 billion of “extra money” annually. Photo: president.bg OIL SALES ARE THE WINNERS. LAVROV SWEARS THAT “THIS IS NOT RUSSIA”
It is symptomatic that the Arab “front” against Qatar was opened shortly after the summit of the Gulf countries and the United States in Riyadh. At the same time, the Qatar News Agency unexpectedly published a speech on behalf of the country's Emir Tamim bin Hamad al Thani in support of building constructive relations with Iran. This speech contrasted so much with the overall anti-Iranian mood of the summit that it caused widespread condemnation among the Saudis and their allies. It is possible that the anti-Tehran coalition emerging in Riyadh was going to declare a boycott of Iran, but then the brave little Qatar came onto the scene and, as they say, asked for it. It didn't help that the Qatar News Agency soon disavowed the published speech and even claimed that the site had been hacked by hackers. The Qataris, of course, did not believe it: the boycott mechanism had already been launched.
Meanwhile, there are, of course, grounds for accusing official Doha of links with terrorism - the kingdom is not sterile and not free from shadow connections. In the Arab world, Qatar is considered one of the richest oil states, having about $100 billion of “extra money” annually. Some of these funds are allegedly spent to support Islamic terrorism. In particular, the head of the Qatari Foreign Ministry is suspected of this Khaled al Atiyah, who allegedly personally oversees what is happening in Syria and the actions of the banned Daesh and the Muslim Brotherhood. Another interesting statement that can be found in open sources: It was Qatar that allegedly bought the banned terrorist group “Caucasus Emirate”, operating in Russia.
Official Qatar, of course, denies all accusations against it. According to a statement issued today, Doha regrets the decision of six Arab states to sever ties, and is confident that “these measures are unjustified and are based on claims and allegations that have no basis.” US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also spoke with restraint, calling on the Gulf states to “maintain unity and work to overcome existing contradictions.” Interestingly, Tillerson expressed doubt that the severance of diplomatic relations would contribute to the victory over terrorism, and promised that he would mediate between the quarreling states.
Russia through the mouth of the Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov issued an even more original statement, hastening to declare that it was not the Russian Federation that caused a rift in the Middle East. “Although we are suspected that we are behind any event in the world, I assure you: this is not so,” Lavrov said, adding that our country has never rejoiced at the difficulties encountered by other states.
The only obvious winners were oil sellers. As soon as it became known on the morning of June 5 about the unprecedented increase in tension in the Middle East region, oil prices immediately went up. In particular, the futures price for Brent oil rose during trading on the London ICE Exchange, reaching a peak of 50.71. Texas oil WTI rose in price by 10 a.m. Moscow time by 1.4% to $48.34 per barrel.
Russia, through the mouth of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, issued an even more original statement, hastening to declare that it was not the Russian Federation that had quarreled the Middle East Photo: kremlin.ru
“TRUMP WAS PROMISED BILLIONS, AND HE SAID: GO ALL TO THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM”
BUSINESS Online asked its experts who quarreled the six most important Arab states with Qatar and whether this is fraught with a new big war in the Middle East.
Elena Suponina— orientalist, advisor to the director, Russian Institute for Strategic Studies:
“The real target is not Qatar, but Iran.” It was because of their attitude towards him that the Arab monarchs of the Persian Gulf quarreled. Qatar has always supported Iran, understanding the harmful consequences of such a position. The situation in the region smells like a big war, and not all states, unlike Saudi Arabia, are interested in it. And this, in my opinion, is the main reason for the current confrontation. Not the most important thing is Qatar’s relationship with some extremist organizations that Saudi Arabia considers terrorist. This also gets on the nerves of the Saudi royal house. But so far they have endured. Now this conflict has spilled over also due to the fact that the Saudis were actively supported by American President Donald Trump, who just a few weeks ago visited Riyadh for a summit of Muslim states. There he allowed himself very tough statements regarding Iran, and this further encouraged the Saudis; they took this as a green light for further actions. And while on this path we have taken up Qatar.
Events can go in two ways. The first is further escalation in the region, which is very dangerous. At a minimum, this could delay the resolution of conflicts such as Yemen and Syria, where conflicting interests on the one hand of Saudi Arabia and Iran on the other are clearly visible. The second option is that mediation by regional neighbors can cool passions. It can be assumed that states such as Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman, Turkey and others can provide active mediation here. But I don’t really believe in US mediation, despite all their promises. Because all their recent actions were aimed at splitting the main players in the region.
Maxim Shevchenko- journalist, public figure:
“The situation in the region will, of course, become more complicated. Qatar is one of the main states in the region. An entire coalition of Wahhabi states, dependent on Saudi Arabia, and, therefore, on the current US administration, has formed against him. All this coincided with recent dances and various princes with sabers in their hands. This is, of course, a consequence of Trump’s visit to the Middle East; this is preparation for a war against Iran. Moreover, both Saudi Arabia and all the puppets are making claims against Qatar for its relations with Iran. It says it all - Iran, the Houthis. But it is not clear how one can simultaneously support Hezbollah, the Houthis, al-Qaeda and Daesh, so we will leave this nonsense aside. Al-Qaeda and Daesh are just for show, for a Western audience. But in reality it is Iran and the Houthis, the rebels in Yemen. All the Saudis, their puppets, everyone who gets money from them is putting together a united front. Without bringing Qatar to your side, it is impossible to start a large, full-scale war against Iran and Hezbollah in Syria. This shows that the Syrian war is gradually coming to an end.
Shamil Sultanov- Head of the analytical center "Russia - Islamic World"
— the main problem not Iranian. The problem is the fierce zoological hatred of the Emirates towards the Muslim Brotherhood organization. Since the only Gulf country that has more or less normal relations with the Muslim Brotherhood is Qatar, now in light of the disposition that is emerging in the region after the arrival of Donald Trump, the problem has come to light. Trump was promised billions there, and he said: go ahead, it’s all for the fight against terrorism. Under this murmur, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh decided to launch a frontal attack against Qatar. A key component of this is the personal friendship between Mohammed bin Salman, who is the defense minister and "heir apparent" to the throne in Saudi Arabia, and Mohammed bin Zayed, the heir to the throne in the Emirates. They have close relationships with each other, and the conflict with the Muslim Brotherhood is very important to each.
For the heir to the Emirates, it is important because it allows him to consolidate around himself the elites in the UAE, who are ambivalent about Abu Dhabi’s offensive against the Muslim Brotherhood organization. And for Mohammed bin Salman, this is important because his fight against Muhammad bin Nayef, the Saudi Arabian interior minister, who is the heir apparent, has not been very successful. And as Vladimir Lenin taught us, the most important thing in politics is the struggle for power. The key point for the King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz and his son, is to knock off Muhammad bin Nayef. So far this has not worked out, as the elites of Saudi Arabia are not very happy with either the king or his son Mohammed bin Salman. Qatar is positioned as a country that wants to improve relations with Iran, which is the main enemy of all Saudi elites. The attack began three weeks ago. The father of the current emir of Qatar, Hamad ibn Khalifa, who once called on Muammar Gaddafi to increase pressure on the Saudis, still wants to seize two provinces from Saudi Arabia. All this in order to change the attitude of the Saudi elite towards Muhammad ibn Nayef, a personal friend of the Qatari emir.
An attack against Qatar is an attack against the emir and against Muhammad ibn Nayef. I don't think it will come to war. Everyone is waiting for the go-ahead from the Washington regional party committee. But I don't think he will say anything intelligible. Qatar has very powerful allies in Washington, and in some ways they are much stronger than Trump. If the Qatari Emir’s nerves hold out, this attack will fizzle out in the next two to three weeks.
Please note, Oman did not support, Kuwait did not support. This is not a frontal attack. Breaking up a relationship is already a complication of the situation. But there will be no war. And Iran is a reason. The Emirates has much warmer relations with Iran than Qatar. The Emirates' trade turnover with Iran is also greater than that of Qatar with Iran.
The gas monarchy faces blockade from its neighbors
Several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE, made statements on Monday about severing diplomatic relations with Qatar. The small but extremely ambitious gas monarchy has been accused of supporting terrorist organizations and fomenting regional conflicts. What is behind these events and what consequences will they have?
The countries that opposed Qatar promised not only to expel Qatari diplomats, but also to stop all land, air and sea communications with this emirate. The monarchy is also excluded from the Saudi-led coalition participating in the military intervention in Yemen (this country, by the way, also broke off diplomatic relations with Qatar).
Official Doha has already responded to the decision of those Arab states to suspend relations with Qatar, calling it without legal justification and violating Qatari sovereignty. The monarchy itself has been described as the victim of a "deceitful campaign" designed to destabilize the region.
Actively playing in the regional arena (and far beyond the borders of the Persian Gulf region and the Arabian Peninsula), Qatar has long irritated many Arab countries. In particular, with its support for the Muslim Brotherhood group (the organization is recognized as terrorist, its activities are prohibited in Russia) and Sunni Islamist groups associated with it. At the same time, the Qataris are accused of supporting pro-Iranian forces in the region. Doha has repeatedly denied accusations of sponsoring extremist groups - but few doubt the huge role that this emirate played in helping various groups of the Syrian armed opposition - including such as the terrorist Al-Nusra Front, banned in Russia.
In the recent past, Qatar itself has repeatedly made loud foreign policy moves. He broke off diplomatic relations either with Israel or with Iran. But, ironically, one of the reasons for the current diplomatic aggravation in the Gulf region was the scandalous story of the appearance at the end of May of comments from the Qatari monarch about the desirability of improving relations with Iran. (And Tehran, as you know, is a real bone in the throat for Saudi Arabia). In Qatar, this information was called “fake” and it was blamed on some hackers who hacked the website of the state news agency. Be that as it may, the Arab neighbors responded by blocking Qatar-based media, including the famous Al-Jazeera satellite network, which often criticizes the Saudi and Egyptian authorities.
Although the statements by Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Cairo and Manama to end relations with Qatar were made separately, there is a clear sense of consistency between them.
– In reality, what is happening is a reaction that is not the first to political behavior Qatar, due to the fact that this country seeks to develop relations with Iran, says Grigory KOSACH, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor of the Russian State University for the Humanities. – Which, on the one hand, contradicts the point of view of other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. On the other hand, Qatar has long become a place where (as in London to a certain extent) there are representatives of all opposition movements in the Arab world - from the Muslim Brotherhood to Hamas and Syrian Islamist organizations. And this causes extreme dissatisfaction of both the Gulf states and Egypt (since some prominent figures of the Muslim Brotherhood movement are still in Qatar. This is not a new phenomenon: in 2014, similar events already took place (then Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and The UAE recalled its ambassadors from Doha - “MK”) But then it was less painful: only the recall of ambassadors took place. Today everything is much more serious. This is an attempt to stop Qatar and force it to follow the path that other Gulf states are taking. Consequences of what is happening can be quite significant: a de facto blockade of Qatar has been introduced, Qatari citizens are prohibited from entering the territories of the respective countries (although an exception was made for Qataris going on the Hajj to Mecca).The country finds itself in strict isolation...
At first glance, the enmity between Qatar and Saudi Arabia may seem strange - from an ideological point of view, these two Wahhabi monarchies are on the same side of the barricades on many issues. However, it is not difficult to notice the emerging rivalry between these countries for the role of leader in the Arab-Islamic world.
“When we talk about several Arab countries in this situation, the main one is Saudi Arabia,” says the head of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Vasily KUZNETSOV. – There have long been contradictions between this country and Qatar (they existed in 2011 and later), which sometimes escalate. Qatar wants to play an independent role - and this is often seen by the Saudi authorities as destructive for the region. But I would not overestimate what happened, because we already had examples of the severance of diplomatic relations, including between these countries. In general, this often happens in the region. This is a form of showing dissatisfaction and exerting pressure.
What makes the situation even more piquant is the fact that Qatar is the location of the US Air Force Central Command base. But at the same time, it is noteworthy that the current sharp anti-Qatar steps by Riyadh and its allies were taken just a couple of weeks after Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, during which arms deals worth $110 billion were concluded. We should not lose sight of that Qatar is preparing to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022.
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, and then Yemen and Libya announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Qatar. The reason was the country's support for Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (organizations banned in Russia).
For example, in Egypt they said that the authorities’ decision to sever relations was caused by the failure of attempts to convince Doha to stop supporting terrorist organizations led by the Muslim Brotherhood association, which is also banned in our country. In Yemen, their step was explained as follows: “The severance of relations occurs after the actions of Qatar and its connections with the groups that carried out the coup (the Houthis and army units loyal to ex-President of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh), as well as its support for extremist groups in Yemen, became clear.” .
On Monday morning it became known that the UAE had given Qatari diplomats 48 hours to leave the country. Bahrain also gave the ambassadors the same amount of time.
Qatar later responded to statements from a number of Arab countries. The state's diplomatic service stated that it regrets decisions made and consider this measure “unjustified and based on unsubstantiated allegations.”
This is how Boris Dolgov, senior researcher at the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, candidate of historical sciences, commented on these events:
How will the severance of diplomatic relations between a number of Arab states and Qatar affect the political situation in the region?
- Here, first of all, it must be said that disagreements, even confrontation between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have existed for quite a long time. These are Islamic-ideological differences, since Qatar supports the Muslim Brotherhood, and Saudi Arabia adheres to Wahhabi ideology in its interpretation of Islamic dogmas.
If we talk about politics, Qatar supported the Muslim Brotherhood both in Egypt and in other areas, and now, as you know, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has switched to terrorist actions. Qatar continues to support them, albeit in a veiled manner. Qatar supports Islamist groups in Syria, which also adhere to the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood. Saudi Arabia also supports Islamist groups, but not those adhering to the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood. Moreover, there have been incidents in Saudi Arabia where adherents of the Muslim Brotherhood were detained and accused of acting against the security of the country, and this is now happening in Bahrain.
This is a long-standing conflict, and it has now escalated. I don’t think that it will somehow radically influence the situation in the Middle East, since these confrontations have existed before. There are unlikely to be any significant changes in the military situation in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia said it was ending Qatar's actions as part of the military coalition it led against Yemen's Houthis. But, in general, Qatar’s participation in these military operations was not so serious. This will affect the veiled financing of Islamist groups of the Muslim Brotherhood by Qatar, and other similar groups by Saudi Arabia.
But diplomatically, the break is a significant move, given that Qatar is also a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council. This will have a very significant impact - of course, both economically and politically.