Εικόνα 1 Gulf Cooperation Council meeting Faisal Nasser/ Reuters 2016

The Qatar crisis is transient

Author: Stephanos Ath. Peppas

But its consequences, especially for Turkey, will be

extremely serious. Turkey already sent 5000 tonnes of
foodstuff, in order to ease the embargo consequences.
Additionally, they opened diplomatic channels with Gulf
countries to try to act as a mediator.

Saudi Arabia has already begun deconstructing Erdogan and

his government. Mass Media in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the
UAE have already begun publishing articles and photographs
linking the AKP with the Muslim Brotherhood, which they
see as a "terrorist organization." This deconstruction act was
also accepted by the US and was actively shown by leaving
Ankara out of Raqqa military operations .

While, Gulf countries and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with

Qatar and imposing a land, sea and air blockade they respond
with a joint military SOF exercise with USA in Al -Galayel
area. The U.S. has major military bases in Qatar but at the
same time, it wants to maintain close ties with Saudi Arabia,
especially after the recent gigantic arms deal package of more
than $100 billion that could end up surpassing more than
$300 billion over a decade, to help Saudi Arabia boost its
defensive capabilities . Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base hosts
11.000 American personnel and is one of Washington's
largest military bases in the Middle East.

But, how the Saudis can pull Qatar’s ear? Saudi Arabia,
which supports and finances extreme Islam. Equally
hypocritical politics are used by USA which turns a blind eye
about Saud's dark interconnections with Islamic terrorism
from September 11, 2001 to today . This based on their
"alliances", of course, since the founding of the kingdom in
the 1930’s.
Iran-Qatar relation

Meanwhile, friendlier Doha -Tehran links could impact Al -

Thani's alliance with Washington.

Εικόνα 2 Al Jazeera OPEC - LNG fields

Qatar and Iran , also share management of the world's largest

gas field, South Pars, in the Persian Gulf. Qatar is the
world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and
produces up to 77 million tonnes of gas each year.

But, if Al-Thani bonds to Turkish President Erdogan and

Iranian President Rouhani, as predicted, that may further
inflame regional tensions.

"Turkish diplomatic efforts with Riyadh would face

challenges because Ankara and Riyadh would struggle to
find common ground on the Muslim Brotherhood issue, since
Erdogan's party is perfectly aligned with Doha on it," as
stated by Eurasiagroup. Russia's current lack of choosing a
side in the 2017 Qatar crisis, mostly resides on the fact that
has stakes in both Doha and Riyadh. Russian strategy has a
more”free-will” style, as they do not force anyone of their
partners to choose camp side.

Last night on Jul y 6 t h , the Ultimatum set one month ago

which regarded a list of 13 demands also including the
closure of Arab TV channel Al Jazeera , by Saudi Arabia,
UAE, Bahrain and Egypt has ended.

The UN, after this outcome has authorized their

undersecretary general Jeffrey Feltman to meet with Qatar’s
foreign affairs minister Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi in
Doha. The UN expressed its concern about the continued
blockade and also underlined that the UN supports the
Kuwaiti mediation efforts to en d the crisis.

Germ any, who also enjoys very strong ties in basic sectors
(economical, military, merchant) with Qatar, has requested
full support from Qatari intelligence service in order for the
BND (Federal Intelligence Service -
Bundesnachrichtendienst ) to help investigate if accusations
about supporting terrorist groups are valid.

The U.S.A., by the US State Department statement late on

Thursday July 6th, said that US Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson will be visiting Kuwait on Monday July 10th, to
discuss efforts to resolve the crisis. US Secretary of State
Mr. Tillerson would visit Kuwait following visits to Ukraine
and Turkey where he is expected to meet Kuwaiti mediator
officials.

British Prime Minister, Mrs. Theresa May has followed the

lead of the previous leaders and established a telephone
communication with Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman .
She urged about de -escalating of the issue in the region and
proceeds with dialogue.

The ongoing Qatar -Saudi crisis is expected to bring a series

of political, economic and geopolitical adjustments not only
in the Middle East. As already observed , Shipping and
Aviation sectors are affected. Security and Risk consultants
state that “VLCCs are being rerouted to avoid the Suez
Canal. Tankers , also have to switch ports where they
offload. These requirements are shaking up the shipping
industry. Because of the restrictions, the logistics of moving
products become more complicated. The same applies for
aviation.”

Qatar is the 14th richest state -owned investment fund

worldwide according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund
Institute's ranking and one of the largest investors in Europe
starting from Germany, Fra nce and the United Kingdom to
Russia and Turkey.

Below, there is a list of only some of Qatar’s International

investments:

 Deutsche Bank
 Barclays
 Credit Suisse
 Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
 British Airways
 EADS
 Glencore Mining group
 Rosneft Oil Co.
 Fund Empire State Realty Trust
 Chinese Exports of liq uefied natural gas
 Agricultural Bank of China

Most possibly, this crisis (artificial or not ) will soon be

overcome by Emir Thani's change of politics or by "Emir's
own change".
In a sense, we observe another tension between Sunni and
Shiite Muslims. Major oil and LNG exporters are on the
opposite sides also in the conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
These can tell a lot , to Geostrategic observers.

Sources

 http://www.aljazeera.com/topics/country/qatar.html
 https://www.eurasiagroup.ne t/live-post/middle-east-
rifts-are-widening-amid-a-global-power-vacuum
 http://gr.euronews.com/2017/06/06/qatar-investment-qia-katar-
ependyseis-stin-europi-kai-ston-kosmo
 http://fairplay.ihs.com/commerce/article/4287796/qatar-scenarios-
shipping-and-port-companies-need-to-consider-as-crisis-continues