The crisis triggered in the Gulf last 5 June following the decision of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt to interrupt diplomatic and commercial relations with Qatar, continues to have its effects especially on the population.
Al Qatar was asked to cut the bridges with Teheran and a series of other measures to break its isolation even with an embargo that prevents it from importing essential goods. Faced with the closure of the Gulf countries, however, Qatar is undertaking an intense activity of increases in military and defense equipment. Type the dreaded ereua S-400 defense system.
Saudi Arabia, in response, has made it known that it will take military action against Qatar if the emirate acquires the S-400 anti-missile systems from Russia. This is the threat launched by the Saudi king Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud to the rival emirate contained in a letter sent to the French president Emmanuel Macron, excerpts of which were published yesterday evening by the newspaper "Le Monde". The threat comes as Qatar is negotiating with Russia the purchase of the S-400 air defense system, in an attempt to increase the protection of its territory in light of the diplomatic and economic embargo launched by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt on June 5, 2017.
In the letter sent to President Macron, King Salman expressed his "deep concern" over the current negotiations between Doha and Moscow, stating that Qatar's acquisition of the S-400 would jeopardize the "national security" of its neighbors. of the Persian Gulf. If such an agreement were to be concluded, "the kingdom would be ready to take all necessary measures to eliminate this defense system, including military action", warns the Saudi king in a letter addressed to the French head of state, asking Paris to exert diplomatic pressure on Doha to prevent this from happening. Last January, Qatari ambassador to Russia, Fahad bin Mohammed al Attiyah, announced that the two countries were at an advanced stage of negotiations to purchase the sophisticated S-400 defense system. According to the Qatari diplomat, a military cooperation agreement signed in October 2017 during the visit of the Russian Defense Minister Sergej Shoigu to Doha paved the way for an interaction between Russia and Qatar "in the field of defense, including the supply of equipment, the training of soldiers and officers, the maintenance of weapons and the cooperation of special services ”.