​​​​​​​Russian newspaper: Turkey stirs differences between Arab countries

The newspaper "Nezavisimaya Gazeta" published an article about the distance of gulf settlement opportunities as a result of Qatar's insistence on its partnership with Ankara, which intervene in the Syrian and Libyan affairs.

"Qatar's close partnership with Turkey could complicate the settlement of the diplomatic dispute between the emirate and its neighbors, which has been going on since 2017," the paper said.

There were signs that the dispute could be resolved in November 2019, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that the Qatari foreign minister made an unannounced trip to Riyadh and held talks with representatives of the Saudi Governing Council. Which included abandon of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Observers also pointed out that the invitation of Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to attend the Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council is a positive sign.

Lomonosov, a professor at Moscow state university's School of Global Politics, was quoted as saying that Qatar bears responsibility for the ongoing crisis.

According to the expert, the emirate had an opportunity to end the regional dispute with the gulf corporation counters "GCC", but the emir refused to attend the event, explaining that "the expansion of Qatar's cooperation with the countries of the region, especially Turkey, has a negative impact on the context of these negotiations."

Lomonosov said "Turkey's actions in the region complicate dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and have become an additional reason to postpone the restoration of Saudi-Qatari relations".

But the expert does not believe that Qatar's relationship with Iran is on the agenda of prominent members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, as he believes that the Gulf states no longer see Qatar's relationship with Iran with the big problem as the Qatari-Turkish relationship.

The expert emphasizes that there is a serious campaign in the Saudi press against Turkey.

Lomonosov said "this is a tactical plan resulting from the current situation, and that doesn't mean at all refusing to accept Iran as a major challenger in the region".

M.M