Qatar made a tempting offer to Russia
On Monday, March 26, the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani arrived in Moscow on a visit. At a meeting with Vladimir Putin, the Qatari emir will discuss policies in the Middle East and important issues relating to political and economic cooperation between Russia and Qatar. Little Qatar plays a disproportionately large role in Middle Eastern and even world politics, due to its growing financial opportunities associated with colossal oil and gas reserves.
Russia has always had a difficult relationship with Qatar - like Saudi Arabia, Qatar supports religious fundamentalist groups around the world, including in Syria, where radical groups fight against government forces and the Russian Armed Forces who came to their aid. It was Qatar that the Russian media declared the main blacksmith of the Arab spring of 2011, which led to a regime change in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and led to a bloody civil war in Syria.
However, the political situation in the Middle East is very volatile. Now, Qatar has had a very big quarrel with Saudi Arabia and a number of other Middle Eastern and African states, allied with Riyadh. Qatar’s relations with the United States and NATO, which in the Arab conflict have sided with Saudi Arabia, have worsened. Apparently, these circumstances forced Qatar to look in the person of Russia if not an ally, then at least an economic partner, who could intercede in case of any political problems. Moreover, a change of power took place in Qatar - in June 2013, Crown Prince Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani replaced his father Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani as emir. In 2014, the new emir first met with Vladimir Putin in Sochi, and then his visits to Russia became regular. Tamim bin Hamad came to Russia in January 2016, the Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abderrahman Al Thani became an even more frequent guest in our country.
Now Qatar is "rolling up" to the Kremlin with very tempting offers. For example, it became known that Qatar is going to invite Russian companies to participate in a tender for additional exploration of gas fields in the emirate. Qatar plans to increase production of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and amid a quarrel with Saudi Arabia and most other Arab countries, cooperation with Russia and attracting Russian companies as investors may benefit the Qatari the economy. Qatar Airways intends to significantly increase the number of flights between the capital of Qatar, Doha and St. Petersburg, Qatar plans to create a special center for research in the oil sector and energy - jointly with Rosneft.
It is clear that Qatar can hardly be called a sincere friend of Russia. But in the current political situation, Doha has no choice but to try to establish relations with Moscow, which have seriously deteriorated since 2011 - due to the Arab spring and provocation against the Russian ambassador in Qatar, who was beaten at the airport of the Qatari capital. Russia can also benefit from cooperation with Qatar, which will not hinder the presence of another beneficial contact in the Arab world.
Russia has always had a difficult relationship with Qatar - like Saudi Arabia, Qatar supports religious fundamentalist groups around the world, including in Syria, where radical groups fight against government forces and the Russian Armed Forces who came to their aid. It was Qatar that the Russian media declared the main blacksmith of the Arab spring of 2011, which led to a regime change in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and led to a bloody civil war in Syria.
However, the political situation in the Middle East is very volatile. Now, Qatar has had a very big quarrel with Saudi Arabia and a number of other Middle Eastern and African states, allied with Riyadh. Qatar’s relations with the United States and NATO, which in the Arab conflict have sided with Saudi Arabia, have worsened. Apparently, these circumstances forced Qatar to look in the person of Russia if not an ally, then at least an economic partner, who could intercede in case of any political problems. Moreover, a change of power took place in Qatar - in June 2013, Crown Prince Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani replaced his father Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani as emir. In 2014, the new emir first met with Vladimir Putin in Sochi, and then his visits to Russia became regular. Tamim bin Hamad came to Russia in January 2016, the Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abderrahman Al Thani became an even more frequent guest in our country.
Now Qatar is "rolling up" to the Kremlin with very tempting offers. For example, it became known that Qatar is going to invite Russian companies to participate in a tender for additional exploration of gas fields in the emirate. Qatar plans to increase production of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and amid a quarrel with Saudi Arabia and most other Arab countries, cooperation with Russia and attracting Russian companies as investors may benefit the Qatari the economy. Qatar Airways intends to significantly increase the number of flights between the capital of Qatar, Doha and St. Petersburg, Qatar plans to create a special center for research in the oil sector and energy - jointly with Rosneft.
It is clear that Qatar can hardly be called a sincere friend of Russia. But in the current political situation, Doha has no choice but to try to establish relations with Moscow, which have seriously deteriorated since 2011 - due to the Arab spring and provocation against the Russian ambassador in Qatar, who was beaten at the airport of the Qatari capital. Russia can also benefit from cooperation with Qatar, which will not hinder the presence of another beneficial contact in the Arab world.
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