Two of the world’s largest energy producers have vowed to increase trade relations. Qatar is under pressure amid an economic boycott by neighboring Gulf states over its alleged support of terrorism.
Image: Reuters/N. Zeitoon
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Qatar and Russia announced the new agreement, which will see closer trade ties, during a visit by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the Gulf Nation on Wednesday.
Lavrov made the commitment after a meeting in Doha with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.
The Russian foreign minister told reporters that Moscow "attached great importance" to economic and energy cooperation between the two countries.
Sheikh Mohammed, for his part, said Qatar could no longer rely on neighboring states to support its economy or guarantee food security.
The two nations are among the world's top oil and gas producing countries.
Qatar - Gulf Cooperation Council disputes over the years
The current diplomatic crisis engulfing Qatar is not the first time that wealthy Gulf neighbors have been through rough patches. DW takes a look at the history of Middle Eastern regional discord.
Severed ties, broken trust
Sunni-led Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and Egypt cut ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of backing extremism and fostering ties with their Shiite rival, Iran. Doha denies the claim. SA and its allies also imposed sanctions against Doha and presented Qatar with a list of demands. Kuwait has been trying to mediate, and several Western diplomats have toured the region to defuse the row.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/STRINGER
Instability haunts Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
Back on March 5, 2014, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain suspended ties with Qatar over its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that has been labelled a terrorist organization. Qatar was accused of breaching the 2013 GCC security agreement. Later in November that year, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain agreed to return their ambassadors to Doha after eight months of tension and frozen relations.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Elfiqi
Arab Spring and the GCC
The Arab Spring in 2011 did not lead to uprisings in GCC member states, apart from Bahrain, which crushed Shiite protests with Saudi military support. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have long been concerned Iran could cause unrest among their Shiite populations.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Al-Shaikh
Pipeline disputes
Relations between Saudi Arab and Qatar hit a low spot in 2006 after Riyadh withdrew its approval for Qatar’s plans to build a gas pipeline to Kuwait. In the same year, Saudi Arabia also protested against a planned pipeline for taking Qatari gas to the UAE and Oman. In 2005 there had also been Saudi protests against a plan to build a bridge linking Qatar to the UAE.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Brakemeier
Border clash
In 1992, three people were killed in a border clash between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Qatar claimed that Saudi Arabia had attacked the border post at Khafus. Saudi Arabia responded that the clash had taken place on Saudi territory.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
Border dispute
In 1965 an agreement was reached on where the border between Qatar and Saudi Arabia would lie. But the issue was not completely settled until decades later. After three years of wrangling, the two countries signed a border demarcation agreement in 1996. It took more than a decade after this for it to be fully implemented.
Territorial disputes
In 1991, Doha took a border dispute with Bahrain over the Hawar Islands to the United Nations International Court of Justice. Armed confrontation between the two countries had been narrowly avoided in 1986 due to timely Saudi intervention. Later, the ICJ ruled in favor of Bahrain. Qatar was awarded the Janan Islands.
The Arab countries accused Qatar of destabilizing the region by supporting "terrorists," a charge dismissed by Doha.
The diplomatic rift, aimed at isolating Qatar, has disrupted supply chains and affected flow of goods into the tiny emirate. The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday transportation costs in Qatar have gone up about 9 percent and food prices have risen 2 percent due to the boycott.
With no signs of tensions easing, Sheikh Mohammed said his country was willing to negotiate an end to the diplomatic crisis, but had seen no sign that Saudi Arabia and its allies were open to mediation.
"Qatar maintains its position that this crisis can only be achieved through a constructive dialogue ... but the blockading counties are not responding to any efforts being conducted by Kuwait or other friendly countries," the Qatari Foreign Minister told reporters at a news conference with his Russian counterpart.
Lavrov - who has also visited Kuwait and the UAE as part of his Middle East tour - called for all parties to find a solution.
He said if face-to-face negotiations started, Russia would be ready to contribute to the mediation.
"It's in our interests for the GCC to be united and strong," the Russian top diplomat said, referring to the Gulf Cooperation Council comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Russia has long sought to establish itself as a major player in the region’s affairs, most notably in Syria’s six-year civil war, where it backs President Bashar al-Assad.
