SAUDI ARABIA WILL TAKE “MILITARY ACTION” AGAINST QATAR IF IT PURCHASES RUSSIAN S-400 SYSTEM

SAUDI ARABIA WILL TAKE “MILITARY ACTION” AGAINST QATAR IF IT PURCHASES RUSSIAN S-400 SYSTEM – REPORT

FILE – In this file photo taken Dec. 16, 2015 and provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Russian S-400 long-range air defense missile systems are deployed at Hemeimeem air base in Syria. (Vadim Savitsky/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

In a letter addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud warned that Saudi Arabia will take a military action against Qatar if it acquires Russian-made S-400 long-range air-defense systems, the French newspaper Le Monde reported on June 1.

“The Kingdom [Saudi Arabia] would be ready to take all necessary measures to eliminate this defense system, including military action,” King Salman warned in the latter.

According to Le Monde, the Saudi king asked Macron to help to prevent the Russian-Qatari S-400 deal in order to preserve the stability in the region.

The S-400 is a high-altitude long-range air-defense system that can be armed with 40N6 missiles, which have an active radar guidance and a range of up to 400 km. The system also includes 91N6E radar with a detection range up to 570 km. The radar can even detect fifth generation warplanes from a distance up to 150 km, according to pro-Russian sources.

Qatar first showed its interest in the S-400 air-defense system in late 2017. Later in January of 2018, Qatari Ambassador to Russia Fahad bin Mohammed Al-Attiyahin revealed that Doha and Moscow are at an “advanced stage” of negotiating the purchase of the S-400 air-defense system.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, and Egypt cut off diplomatic relations with Qatar in June of 2017 after accusing the gulf country of funding terrorist groups in the region. Since then, Qatar has increased its military spending, in what appears to be an attempt to deter Saudi Arabia and its allies.

Comments

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, specif

ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Search This Blog