The UAE explained the reason for the decision to break off diplomatic relations with Qatar. The decline of Qatar: why the countries of the Persian Gulf broke off diplomatic relations with Doha Countries that broke off relations with Qatar

A number of countries recalled embassy staff.

The Kingdom of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE reported breaking off diplomatic relations with Qatar because of the government's support for "terrorism and the provision of financial assistance to terrorist groups."

In particular, in a statement on the website of the Bahrain Foreign Ministry, it is noted that the kingdom is recalling all employees of its embassy from the neighboring country.

"Based on the desire on the part of the State of Qatar to destabilize the stability and security of the Kingdom of Bahrain, as well as interfering in internal affairs, media incitement, supporting terrorism, and providing financial assistance to Iran-linked groups to spread chaos in Bahrain... the Kingdom Bahrain announces a break in diplomatic relations with Qatar in order to maintain national security, as well as the withdrawal from the Bahraini diplomatic mission from Doha.

As noted, the diplomatic representatives of Qatar must leave the country within the next 48 hours.

The ministry also informed about the closure of sea and air communications with Dubai in the next day, Qatari citizens who are in Bahrain are required to leave it within 14 days, after which they will be denied entry to this territory, and citizens of the kingdom are now prohibited from visiting Qatar.

In turn, the press agency of Saudi Arabia, citing a communiqué from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that for security reasons, it was decided to close 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 of Qatar.

In addition, the country's authorities announced the recall of their diplomats from the country and demands that representatives of Qatar leave the kingdom. Also, within 14 days, nationals of the countries must leave Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The governments of the United Arab Emirates and Egypt also made the relevant decisions, where they noted that the rupture of relations is connected with "the spread of the ideology of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State by Qatar, the support of terrorist attacks in the Sinai, the continued interference of Qatar in the internal affairs of Egypt and the countries of the region, which jeopardizes the national security of Arab countries and sows division in Arab society."

Recall that earlier a diplomatic scandal erupted between Moldova and Russia. Moldovan authorities ordered five Russian diplomats to leave the Russian Federation. The diplomats were declared persona non grata and ordered to leave the country within 24 hours.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Qatar due to the latter's support for international terrorism, the ideas of Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

Saudi Arabia noted that it is primarily guided by security concerns, fearing extremism and terrorism emanating from Qatar. Saudi Arabia also completely closed sea, air and land terminals, and banned the transit and use of Qatar's territorial waters. A Qatari diplomat ordered to leave Saudi Arabia as soon as possible, and residents of Saudi Arabia are prohibited from visiting Qatar.

Bahrain all employees from the Consulate of Qatar. The Bahraini Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that "in view of the ongoing actions by the state of Qatar aimed at destabilizing the situation and the security of the Kingdom of Bahrain," such a difficult decision was made. It also mentions that Qatar interfered in the internal affairs of Bahrain, and in general, Qatar's policy is aimed at supporting terrorism, in addition, the country finances groups associated with Iran. Employees of Qatari diplomatic missions must leave the country within 48 hours.

The statement of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on the severance of relations says that “the decision was made in connection with the spread of the ideology of Qatar by the Al-Qaeda and Islamic State groups, the support of the terrorist attacks in the Sinai, the continued interference of Qatar in the internal affairs of the ARE and the countries of the region, which puts under threaten the national security of Arab countries and sows division in Arab society.” Egypt also lamented that all attempts to dissuade Qatar from supporting terrorism have failed.

The UAE's reasoning on the severance of relations is also at the forefront of the security motivation. The UAE reminded that Qatar stopped its participation in the operation against the Houthi rebels, who established control over a significant part of the territory of Yemen, which is explained by Qatar's adherence to the ideas of the terrorist groups ISIS and Al-Qaeda.

Qatar believes that "there are no legitimate excuses" for the four Arab countries to cut diplomatic relations with it. The country also notes that this decision is a "violation of its sovereignty" and promises its citizens that they will not feel any difference from such a decision of the four countries. The total share of the Qatari market in countries that have reduced diplomatic relations with Qatar was 8.7% in 2016.

The markets have not yet seen a sharp reaction to the news, however, Brent oil rose by 1.6% to $50.74 per barrel on the London Stock Exchange.

According to Bloomberg, this reaction from the Gulf states is an escalation of the crisis that began shortly after Trump's last trip to Saudi Arabia, where he and King Salman singled out Iran as the world's main sponsor of terrorism.

Six Arab countries - Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Yemen and Libya - today announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Qatar. It will be followed by a complete cessation of transport communications and the expulsion from these countries of all citizens of Qatar. Later, Mauritius and the Maldives announced the break in diplomatic relations with Doha. The reason for such a tough decision of the country is the support by the Qatari authorities of the Islamist movement "Muslim Brotherhood" and ties with Iran - the main enemy of the Sunni countries of the Middle East. At the same time, the main ally of Saudi Arabia, Washington is trying to distance itself from the Middle East diplomatic scandal.

“Qatar supports numerous terrorist and sectarian groups whose goal is to undermine stability in the region. Among them: "Muslim Brotherhood", "Islamic State" and "Al-Qaeda" (all three are recognized as terrorist and banned in Russia.- "b"). Qatar constantly promotes their messages through its media and contributes to their intrigues,” the Saudi state agency SPA said today. The statements of the rest of the countries that announced a boycott of Qatar were shorter, but similar in content. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry accused Doha of a “hostile approach” towards Cairo, and the Bahraini authorities drew attention to media and financial support for terrorists and “groups associated with Iran.” Libya, Yemen and the Maldives also announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Doha .

The answer from Qatar, in turn, came through the largest media outlet in the emirate - the Al Jazeera TV channel. It was his informational impact on the Middle East region that caused anger in the countries that initiated the gap. "Introduced (against Doha.- "b") the measures are unfair and based only on statements and accusations that are not based on facts,” the Qatari Foreign Ministry said. The diplomats added that they deplored the "coordinated decision" by neighboring countries and vowed that it would not affect "normal life" in the emirate.

However, if the Al Jazeera channel was already blocked in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates at the end of May, then the large airline Qatar Airways has yet to face losses. It is obvious that after the rupture of diplomatic relations, the carrier will have to leave the Saudi market, where it ranked second in terms of traffic. However, there has been no official comment from Qatar Airways yet. At the same time, Etihad, based in the UAE, said it would reduce flights to Qatar from tomorrow.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates also intend to stop sea and air communication with Qatar. But most importantly, Saudi Arabia is planning to close the land border - the country's only connection to the rest of the Arabian Peninsula. The citizens of Qatar have two weeks left to leave Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE: during this time there will still be a message. As for the Qatari diplomats, they must leave the mentioned countries even earlier. For example, Bahrain has set a time limit of 48 hours. No less important is the fact that now Qatar will curtail the military operation in Yemen, where the Qatari military helped the Saudi coalition.

Washington chose to distance itself from the diplomatic scandal. The reason was probably the fact that an American air base is based in Qatar, where 10,000 US military personnel serve and the command headquarters is located. “I think we have witnessed a growing mistrust between the (Arab.- "b") countries for some time, and this prompted them to act,” said US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson today, commenting on the situation around Qatar. “Of course, we would like the parties to sit down at the negotiating table and resolve the contradictions that have arisen.” Recall that at the May summit of the Arab countries and the United States in Riyadh, US President Donald Trump called Qatari Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani his friend and described relations between Washington and Doha as "extremely good."

The boycott was also commented on in Iran, a country in which the Qatari authorities are accused of ties. “The era of severing diplomatic ties is over - this is not the way to resolve the crisis. These countries (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, UAE.- "b") there is no other choice but to start a dialogue with neighbors in the region,” Hamid Abu Talebi, deputy head of the political department of the presidential administration of Iran, wrote on his Twitter.

Director of the National Energy Security Fund Konstantin Simonov on the air of Kommersant FM:“I think that the more realistic explanation for what is happening is Qatar’s attempts to improve relations with Iran, which may be unexpected, on the one hand, but is a fact, because at the recent summit, when Trump came to the Gulf, the Emir of Qatar, in plain text said that it is necessary to negotiate with Iran. It was an extremely unexpected story, it happened literally not so long ago. Qatar has its own economic interest there - to try to improve relations with Iran.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that "the decision of a number of Arab countries to break off diplomatic relations with Qatar is their business, these are bilateral relations" in which Moscow does not interfere. At the same time, he stressed that Russia "is interested in maintaining good relations with everyone." The Kremlin expressed the hope that the situation around Qatar "will not affect the general mood of the countries of the region to fight terror." At the same time, as Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the president, emphasized, “Russia values ​​relations with the Persian Gulf region as a whole and individually with the Gulf countries.”

Kirill Krivosheev

They accused Doha of supporting terrorist groups and interfering in the internal affairs of states in the region. Yemen later joined the demarche.

"Qatar, flagrantly violating all agreements, pacts and principles of international law, has spread chaos in Bahrain. It does not take into account the values, rights, morality, principles of good neighborliness and relations in the Persian Gulf and denies all obligations," the statement posted on the website of the Foreign Ministry says. Bahrain. Qatari citizens have 14 days to leave Bahrain, while diplomats have 48 hours. In addition, it is reported that Bahrain has closed its airspace to Qatari aircraft.

The Saudi Arabian authorities also announced the termination of land, air and sea communication with Qatar. In Riyadh, this decision was explained by security considerations.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry clarified that "the decision to break off diplomatic relations was made in connection with the spread by Qatar of the ideology of the Al-Qaeda* and Islamic State** groups, support for the terrorist attacks in the Sinai, Qatar's continued interference in the internal affairs of Egypt and the countries of the region, which jeopardizes the national security of the Arab countries and sows division in the Arab society."

The department also announced the failure of attempts to dissuade Doha from supporting terrorist groups, primarily the Muslim Brotherhood banned in Egypt, *** and the refusal to expel its leaders.

The UAE also supported the decision to break off diplomatic relations.

In addition, the Saudi-led coalition announced the end of Qatar's participation in a joint military operation against the Houthis, who have established control over a large part of the territory of Yemen. This was reported by Al Arabiya TV channel.

Recall: Qatar, which in the Arab world is gracefully called the "barking mouse", is not the first time it has been in the role of an outcast. In March 2014, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia almost simultaneously withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar, accusing the leadership of this country of political and financial support for the Muslim Brotherhood. But, as practice has shown, this did not lead to a serious isolation of Doha.

What is behind the current demarche of the Arab "five", how will it affect the situation in the Middle East?

- The attack against Qatar is a manifestation of the split within the Arab-Islamic coalition that arose after a visit to Riyadh US President Donald Trump, - says the director of the Research Center "Middle East-Caucasus" of the International Institute of Recent States Stanislav Tarasov. Let me remind you that the visit took place on May 21, and on the very first day of his stay in Saudi Arabia, Trump concluded the largest arms deal in the history of the United States. The parties agreed on a comprehensive strategic partnership and signed a number of agreements totaling $280 billion.

In fact, Riyadh paid off the Americans with an unprecedented contract in order to free its hands in actions against Tehran. In response, apparently, Iran has made political and diplomatic efforts to break up the coalition led by Saudi Arabia, which is fighting in Yemen against the Shiites.

As you can see, Iran managed to drive a wedge into the ranks of the coalition. At the end of May, the website of the Qatar News Agency (QNA) published excerpts from a speech attributed to Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at the officer graduation ceremony in Doha. Excerpts from it were instantly distributed by individual Arab and Western media.

In this appeal, allegedly delivered by the Emir of Qatar, it was indicated, in particular, that "it would be unwise to have tense relations with Iran, which is a strong power and a guarantor of stability in the region." In addition, the head of Qatar allegedly stated that the Islamist movement Hamas is "the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people," and Qatar "contributes to achieving a just peace between Hamas and Israel by maintaining constant contacts with both sides."

Tehran could well be behind this informational stuffing directed against Saudi Arabia, as they now believe.

"SP": - Do you think this version is plausible?

- Not really. It can now be used as an information cover. And the real reasons for the break with Qatar are most likely related to the aggravation in Yemen. I do not rule out that Iran, which the coalition led by Saudi Arabia has designated as an enemy, has made efforts to complicate the life of the United States and create a new front for the Americans in Yemen.

In favor of this version, I think, is the fact that the United States is postponing the assault on Raqqa together with the Syrian Kurds. In my opinion, Washington fears complications from Tehran and in the Syrian direction.

There is another important point: May 30 Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in the Kremlin with Deputy Crown Prince, Minister of Defense of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman. According to the office of the royal court of Saudi Arabia, bin Salman came on an official visit to Moscow "in response to the invitation of President Putin and at the direction of King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud".

Then the Arab media wrote that the meeting took place as part of the upcoming visit to the region by Vladimir Putin, who allegedly was going to visit both Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Now, after the demarche against Doha, the question arises: will the Russian leader visit the Middle East at all, and if so, to which country?

"SP": - As a split in the Arab-Islamic coalition will affect the situation in the Middle East?

- Now the situation in the region is acquiring particular tension, which may affect the further course of events, and above all in the Syrian direction. Iran has already stated that it accepts only such a format for the Syrian settlement, which involves the participation of Damascus in the process. It is clear that the United States is categorically not satisfied with such a scenario.

It can be said that Trump in Riyadh challenged Tehran by supplying the coalition with an unprecedented amount of weapons, and now Iran has picked up the thrown glove.

"SP": - What does the current aggravation mean for Russia?

— We are participating in the Syrian settlement in a coalition with Iran and Turkey. And for us, the danger is that the crisis could spread to groups in Syria that are controlled by Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Yes, in such a situation, Moscow gets favorable opportunities for maneuvering - it is no coincidence that the Arab media are hinting that Putin could mediate in a settlement between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. But in general, the situation does not become less tense from this.

* "Al-Qaeda" by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 14, 2003 was recognized as a terrorist organization, its activities in Russia are prohibited.

** The Islamic State Movement (ISIS) was recognized as a terrorist organization by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2014, and its activities in Russia are prohibited.

*** The Muslim Brotherhood (Al-Ikhwan al Muslimun) is a terrorist organization banned by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on February 14, 2003 in Russia.

On Monday, June 5, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE announced the severance of diplomatic and consular relations with Qatar. Correspondent Federal News Agency spoke with an expert about the diplomatic scandal that has already affected the rise in world oil prices.

According to Lenta.ru, the countries of the Persian Gulf accuse Doha of supporting terrorist organizations and actions that destabilize the internal situation in these Arab states. Saudi Arabia said that by terminating diplomatic relations with Qatar, Riyadh secured itself against "terrorism and extremism." The Kingdom called on "all sister countries and companies to do the same."

According to media reports, the conflict between the Gulf states and Qatar occurred after the summit of the Gulf States and the United States in Riyadh, when the Qatari News Agency posted a speech on behalf of the Emir in support of building relations with Iran. In turn, Saudi Arabia, on behalf of all the guests of the summit, condemned Tehran for its "hostile policy", threatening an adequate response. Later, the Qatari Foreign Ministry reported that the news agency's portal had been hacked, and that the speech itself had nothing to do with the emir.

According to Gazeta.ru, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates Etihad Airways has decided to suspend all flights to Qatar. The last flight took place at 2.45 local time.

In turn, the United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated that the United States calls on the parties to the conflict to sit down at the negotiating table, eliminating all differences. Washington expresses confidence that the Gulf Cooperation Council must remain united.

Political and military expert of the People's Diplomacy Foundation and representative of the Future Today Expert and Analytical Club Sergey Prostakov noted in the FAN commentary that Qatar is a unique state, whose role in the region, despite its small territory and complete military dependence on the United States, was enormous. Qatar hosts the American military base Al-Udeid, the headquarters of the forward command of the US Central Command, engaged in planning and conducting military operations in the Middle East, and the 609th air and space operations control center. These structures support all Pentagon operations in the region.

“However, this state of affairs makes Qatar completely dependent on American domestic politics. The country, rich in oil and gas reserves, was the main instrument Obama and Hillary Clinton in the implementation of their plans in the Arab Spring. They included not only a change in the regimes of the Middle Eastern countries oriented towards the republican elite, but also a redistribution of the hydrocarbon market, after which Qatar would gain access to the European market through Egypt and Syria,” Sergey Prostakov explained.

According to the expert, the financing of terrorist organizations, the media giant Al Jazeera, the gas and oil trade - all this was used by Qatar at the suggestion of Washington to destroy competitors and establish its power in the Middle East. But coming to power Donald Trump and Republicans closely associated with American energy companies, stopped the expansion of Doha's influence. It is impossible not to notice that the rupture of relations between the Arab states and Qatar occurred after the US President's visit to the region. And the actions of the Washington-oriented authorities of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE, no less than in Doha, cannot but be related to American politics.

“Tillerson's formal and protocol words about the need to maintain the unity of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf will not change anything in the relations of the competing countries. For American policy in the Middle East, too, everything remains the same: the US military presence in Qatar is such that it does not depend on any change of power in Doha, even if it happens. But in the oil and gas market, the Qatari leadership is finally cut off from Europe and forced to focus on unstable East Asia. And militant groups funded by Doha face the prospect of being left alone in front of pro-Saudi and pro-Turkish competitors and the anti-terrorist coalition. And Qatar, which was the main tool for the destruction of the peaceful Middle East, turns out to be the loser from the Arab Spring initiated with its help, Sergey Prostakov summed up.