SMALL BUT PRECIOUS

Amid large-scale conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, a number of countries attempt to assert themselves as mediators of complex geopolitical processes. Qatar deserves a special attention among them, as it simultaneously acts as a negotiating platform in the Russian-Ukrainian confrontation and in the Israel-Hamas war.

Middle East negotiating platform

Thus, Qatar has mediated the return to Ukraine of children taken to Russia after the start of the conflict.

Earlier, Qatar also was a partner of Russia and Türkiye to ensure the delivery of Russian grain to the most needy countries in Africa.

Today, Qatar is the main negotiating platform between Israel and Hamas for the release of hostages. Moreover, Israel does not negotiate directly with Hamas, getting the mediation support from Doha, Cairo and sometimes the US.

Qatar is one of the world's main suppliers of gas, the most liquid commodity on the global energy market. This allows it to significantly influence its market pricing and actively cooperate with Russia in this matter, which in a certain sense increases the degree of Qatar's influence on Moscow.

In March 2022, Doha expressed its position on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict through its Minister of State for Energy Saad bin Sharid al-Kaabi. He said that his country did not take sides and planned to increase the LNG supplies to Europe in the future.

Al Kaabi also said that Doha did not intend to get political gains from its current position in the global energy market and did not see co-operation with Europe as confrontation with Russia. "We are not choosing sides, we are acting based on our business interests," he said.

It is no secret that Qatar is the political and financial sponsor of the Muslim Brotherhood, which also includes Hamas. Since 2012, Doha has hosted the political wing of the organisation led by Ismail Haniyeh. The close ties between Hamas and Qatar allow the latter to spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually to maintain the infrastructure of the Gaza Strip and its public services.

A friend of Iran and the US

Qatar perhaps is the only Gulf Arab monarchy that maintains close ties with Iran.

In 2017, Qatar re-established contacts with Tehran interrupted a year earlier, after the Saudi-led coalition accused Doha of aiding and abetting Muslim Brotherhood terrorists and cut off diplomatic relations with it. In response, Iran declared its unconditional support for the Qatari authorities in the prevailing diplomatic crisis. In June 2017, Tehran decided to supply Qatar with more than 1 tonne of fruits and vegetables every day to help the country overcome the consequences of the economic blockade by neighbouring countries. At the same time, then Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on Arab countries to stop putting pressure on Doha.

Remarkably, Qatar's close relations with Iran and Hamas do not prevent Doha from maintaining active ties with the US.  During the Arab Spring, Al-Jazeera, a media company owned by the Qatari government, was awarded various prizes by Western countries for its "objective coverage" of the conflict. That is, for promoting the information policy of the US and its partners in the Arab countries. It was Al-Jazeera that criticised the former regimes and voiced different points of view in its live reports, being an influential media platform in the Arab world  and challenging the traditional state channels.

Qatar is also home to the Al-Udaid airbase hosting 11,000 US troops. This is one of the largest US bases in the region, as it also ensures almost 80% of all refuelling of the US combat and other aircraft in the Middle East.

The country is also a major investor in the US, especially in real estate and financial services. For example, Qatar's sovereign wealth fund has invested billions of dollars in US companies and real estate, including luxury hotels, shopping malls and office buildings.

In addition, Doha has long been one of the leading negotiating platforms in the region for the US. Thus, for many years, it has been a venue for numerous contacts between Washington and the leadership of the Afghan Taliban. The agreement on the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan was also reached in Doha.

It is noteworthy that the contacts with the Taliban in Qatar continue till present. Currently, the parties are reviewing the issue of recognising the Taliban government as the legitimate representative of power in Afghanistan.

A tangible factor in the Middle Eastern policy

Türkiye is a de facto ally of Qatar. Both sides coordinate their actions in the Middle East and North Africa quite closely, supporting friendly political organisations operating in the region.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid an official visit to Qatar in early December. This is the only country in the region hosting a Turkish military base. The parties are also united by common approaches to regional politics. The visit confirmed the priority to bring the two countries closer together and strengthen the Türkiye-Qatar geopolitical tandem. In the context of large-scale political changes in the Middle East, Ankara and Doha are trying to determine the possibility of joint actions to strengthen their influence in the region.

The bilateral agenda between the two countries has been rich and quite productive. The parties has so far signed 12 co-operation agreements in various fields, as well as the Joint Declaration of the 9th meeting of the Supreme Strategic Committee. In total, about 100 documents have been signed since the Joint Declaration on the establishment of the Qatari-Turkish Supreme Strategic Committee, whose members meet every year, was adopted on December 19, 2014. They primarily concern the optimisation of the level of cooperation at the highest level, as well as the strategies for the development of various sectors of cooperation through the committee.

Economically, Qatar and Türkiye share strong ties in various fields and activities. These relations are based on agreements in the fields of energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, military equipment and tourism. Türkiye is one of Qatar's key trading partners. Although the volume of bilateral trade is very small, Qatari investment in the Turkish economy is many times larger than the figure for mutual trade.

Thus, the volume of trade turnover between the two countries reached $2.2b in 2022, while Qatari investments in Türkiye exceed $33.2b and the number of companies with Qatari capital reaches 200.

The goal of the parties is to increase the volume of mutual trade to $5b.

Cost of autonomy

Qatar's independent policy periodically leads to tense relations with its neighbours. Its growing influence in the region makes Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other states nervous and exert various forms of pressure on Doha. That, however, does not stop the latter. Qatar's independent policy, close ties with the Taliban, Iran and Hamas make it stand out in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as in relations with Israel.

To achieve its ambitious goals as a powerful hub of regional and international politics, Qatar often uses offensive crossing-the-line diplomacy. Like the scandal in the European Parliament dubbed Qatargate.

The scandal erupted after one of the vice presidents of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, and five other people were detained by Belgian law enforcement agents in late 2022 on suspicion that Qatar, the host of the 2022 World Cup, "attempted to influence European Parliament decisions with significant sums of money and gifts".

It was about a series of events to support Qatar's image and deepening the co-operation of European institutions with the country. Interestingly, although the fact of bribery was proven and the perpetrators were punished, Qatar did not suffer serious reputational damage. To some extent, this can be explained by Qatar's high profile in Europe and the world. While individuals like Eva Kaili come and go, Qatar's credibility and importance in the eyes of Europe, including as a source of gas, remains.