On the Middle East side: Putin called Qatar one of Russia's priority partners

Qatar has become one of Russia's priority partners. Vladimir Putin said this on April 17 at talks with Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, who is in Moscow on an official visit. The countries have similar positions on the international situation, particularly in the Middle East and specifically in Syria. Bilateral relations are also actively developing: Moscow and Doha have signed a series of documents following the negotiations, including an agreement on a new investment platform worth $2 billion. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian president, told Izvestia that both sides have the political will to further develop cooperation. On the same day, Vladimir Putin received Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in the Kremlin, who had previously planned to deliver him a message from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

What agreements have Moscow and Doha concluded?

Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani arrived in Russia on an official visit on April 17. He last came here quite a long time ago: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who ascended the throne back in 2013, visited Russia in 2014, 2016 and twice in 2018. Nevertheless, the Emir of Qatar is in regular contact with the Russian president: the last time they met in person was in July 2024 at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana, and they called each other less than a month ago, on March 21, to discuss the situation in Syria and the Gaza Strip. Now, extensive Russian-Qatari negotiations have taken place in the Kremlin: however, only a small part of the communication in a narrow format was open. And in an expanded format, the parties continued negotiations in the format of an official breakfast.

— We really appreciate the level of our relations with Russia, we talked about ways to develop them. There are projects and proposals that we plan to discuss and implement soon," Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said.

According to Vladimir Putin, relations between Moscow and Doha are strengthening today. Moreover, Qatar is one of Russia's priority partners, and not only in the Middle East, the president said. In addition, Vladimir Putin called Qatar a key partner of Rosneft. Economic cooperation between the two countries has great prospects: Doha has already invested $1 billion in the Russian economy through the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

— For example, the same road, you know, Kutuzovsky's understudy, Bagration Avenue, where Qatar invested in Pulkovo Airport, so they are actively investing in various infrastructure projects, — Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, told reporters.

Qatar is proud of the level of investment cooperation with Russia that has been achieved recently, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said. He particularly noted the fields of healthcare and pharmaceutical production. At the same time, the volume of trade is still modest, both leaders noted.

— Despite the fact that Qatar is one of the largest Arab investors in the Russian economy, the direct trade turnover is not so great yet. That's less than $100 million a year. It consists mainly of Russian grain exports, such as wheat and barley. But we strive to increase the potential for trade growth. And Russia is ready to increase food supplies, including halal meat, butter, confectionery, and so on, to strengthen Qatar's food security," Middle East expert Artyom Tkachev told Izvestia.

Moscow as a whole is currently developing relations with all the countries of the Persian Gulf, and this is a mutual interest in supporting dialogue, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Izvestia.

— As for Qatar, it is a country that sincerely supports the development of bilateral trade and economic cooperation. The level is not bad, although the digital volumes of trade are far from meeting the potential of the two countries. But the abundance of intentions and the political will to further develop cooperation is very good," he said.

Following the talks, the delegations of Russia and Qatar signed a number of documents to develop cooperation. The ceremony was traditionally held in the presence of the heads of state. Among other things, an agreement was approved on the creation of an investment platform with Qatar in the amount of about $ 2 billion — $ 1 billion from each side. A memorandum of understanding on the development of public finance management systems and an agreement on cooperation in the field of healthcare, medical education and medical science were adopted. A memorandum of understanding was also signed between the Ministries of sports.

What are the positions of the Russian Federation and Qatar on the conflict in the Middle East

The international agenda was also discussed during the negotiations.

— We know that Qatar is making very serious efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unfortunately, the initiatives put forward by you, among others, have not been implemented — civilians continue to die in Palestine, which is an absolute tragedy of today, a very serious one," Vladimir Putin said.

Since the fall of 2023, Qatar, together with Egypt and the United States, has been acting as a mediator between the parties to this conflict. Moscow proceeds from the fact that its long-term settlement is possible solely on the basis of the UN decision, which presupposes the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

— We reached an agreement a few months ago, but unfortunately, Israel does not comply with this agreement. But we, as Qatar, continue our mediation efforts in terms of bringing the positions of the parties closer and reaching an agreement that would alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people. We are with Russia — our position is clear and stable.: There can be no peace without the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders," the Emir said.

Today, Qatar seeks to play the role of a mediator and take an equidistant position on all conflict situations in the region, whether it's the Palestinian—Israeli crisis, tensions between Iran and the United States, or a new round of escalation around Syria, Orientalist Leonid Tsukanov told Izvestia. The leaders also touched upon the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic in the open part of the negotiations.

— First of all, we would like to do everything to ensure that Syria remains a sovereign, independent and geographically integrated state, and we would like to discuss with you the possibility of providing assistance to the Syrian people, including humanitarian assistance. There are a lot of problems there: political, security, and purely economic," Vladimir Putin said.

Syria is going through a very difficult period, and it is necessary to support the desire of the new authorities who ousted Bashar al-Assad to ensure the independence and territorial integrity of this state, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani believes. At the same time, he told Vladimir Putin that the head of the new Syrian administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who visited Qatar, is determined to continue cooperation with Russia.

The issues of the Middle East settlement were certainly discussed during the negotiations with the Iranian side. On April 17, Vladimir Putin received in the Kremlin the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic, Abbas Araghchi, who had previously said that he planned to convey to Vladimir Putin a message from Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.