... US and Iran, and maintaining good relations with Iran will not harm Doha's ties with Washington. However, Saudi Arabia used Iran rhetoric against Qatar in this blockade that exposed the Saudi anti-Iran approach.
Saudi Arabia has a very strong hold on GCC countries, and Saudi Arabia is feared by Qatar due to its economic boom, since Doha is moving towards becoming a more dependent and global hub of international activities and events.
Nevertheless, during this blockade period, Saudi Arabia faced a very cold response from its major allies, and ...
... is diversity in security policy in Europe and the Gulf. The EU has a specific relationship with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), they have been working on a free trade agreement for some 18 years and it is still not complete. But relations to the EU ... ... delegation to Kuwait is an indication of their relationship. The UAE too is allied to nearly all EU states.
Saudi Arabia accused Qatar of supporting terrorism. In your opinion, are these claims grounded? How do you assess the efforts taken by the Qatari government ...
... region which remains a critically important part of the global economy, finance and transportation. The foreign military involvement in the civil war in Yemen and the approaching humanitarian disaster in this country, the recent unprecedented pressure on Qatar by a number of neighboring Arab states are just the most graphic illustrations of this dangerous development. The Gulf Cooperation Council is in the state of paralysis and its future remains unclear. Many Gulf countries are getting increasingly ...
... conflict. This action resulted in the Oman and Kuwait monarchs jointly inviting Hassan Rouhani to Muscat and El Kuwait respectively. The
visit
took place in February 2017, and becoming yet another challenge to Riyadh’s authority. The possibility of Qatar joining this duo threatened Saudi Arabia’s leading role in the GCC, which could split the pact into two triads.
In light of the above, it is quite clear that the campaign against Qatar could have started much earlier, in April 2017. Even so, at that point, Riyadh was not clear how the US administration would feel ...
... Turkey.
Scenario two: with the pressure on Qatar mounting, mediation efforts fail. The threat of a more serious confrontation might arise, possibly leading to a smooth transition of power in the emirate.
Scenario three: with confrontation intensifying, Qatar would resort to aggressive measures, disaffiliating from the GCC and would face further rapprochement with Turkey and Iran. In this case, Qatar’s policies on Syria might undergo certain changes, whereupon Doha is likely to join the Astana troika, turning it into a quartet.
Scenario four: the conflict escalates ...
... violent civil war. Currently Russia has over 30 aircraft and attack helicopters constantly running sorties against the rebels
[15]
. It also has an estimated 2,000 personnel stationed in its bases in Tartus and Latakia, in non-combat roles, so far.
The GCC states, mainly Saudi Arabia and Qatar have made their opposition to Bashar being a part of any resolution well known. In fact both Saudi Arabia and the United States have vowed to up their support to the moderate rebels, as reflected in the increase of TOWs (anti-tank missile) being ...
