How did Qatar exploit the Ukrainian war and the Middle East crises for its own gain?
With wars, regional tensions, and thousands of innocent people dying, some countries and organizations are exploiting these disturbances for huge gains and interests.
At the top of these countries is Qatar, which seeks to prolong the Ukrainian war so that it has a place in the global gas market.
Qatar’s exploitation
Last year, Qatar used its hosting of the Taliban not only to return the Taliban to power but also to secure its position as a key non-NATO ally much needed by the United States.
According to international media, Qatar is trying to exploit the world’s divisions over Ukraine, as well as those in the Middle East, not just for profit but to make itself more necessary for U.S. foreign policy.
Qatar is now seeking to take advantage of the energy and inflation crisis that resulted from Ukraine’s war to make itself look more significant, and its recent pro-Palestinian comments are evidence of how it is trying to play with all sides.
Qatari Gas
In a revealing interview, Iranian media quoted the Qatari Foreign Minister and former Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani as saying: “The energy crisis in the wake of the Russian-Ukrainian war and the urgent need of European countries for Middle East oil has made Qatar more important”, according to the Fars News Agency’s International Service.
“We know from our experience that the West forgets our countries, does not interact with us on the basis of equality or common interests, and remembers us only when it is in dire need, as if our country is a treasury”, he said.
They should know that we also have interests, that they should not be harmed and that this should be done on the basis of shared interests, he added.
Qatari interests
According to diplomatic sources, Qatar, unlike other Arab countries, is not of great importance and therefore urgently needs to have any role, and this only comes from being an energy resource.
The sources added that the Qatari Foreign Minister said in statements that Qatar may seek a free trade agreement, and it was not clear whether this was an experimental balloon from Qatar, or just comments from the government official, what is important is that he seems to be stating publicly what is often said behind closed doors in Doha.
According to international reports, Germany recently concluded a gas deal with Qatar to reduce dependence on Russia, so Qatar swoops down to take advantage of the crisis as it once did to benefit from the crisis in Afghanistan.
Qatar has always sought to increase exports to Germany over the past years, and the war is giving it a new opportunity, the sources said.
Qatar also exploited Arab pressure on the United States to deter Iranian influence in the region by continuing to use pressure groups in Washington to get more from the United States.
