It is a historic summit, but the expectations for it are not very high. Representatives of the European Union are meeting today in Brussels with representatives of the countries of the Persian Gulf, i.e. Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. Slovakia was to be represented by Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) at the meeting, which will be followed up by the EU summit tomorrow and on Friday. In the end, however, he did not fly to the Belgian capital and was replaced by the Slovak ambassador to the European Union, Juraj Nociar. The Government Office has not yet explained why the Prime Minister changed his work schedule.
Photo: EU
Kuwaiti Prime Minister Ahmad al-Abdullah as-Sabah and President of the European Council Charles Michel in Brussels.
Two wars
Officially, it is the first summit of the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The relations between these organizations are mainly economic with an emphasis on energy. But at the moment they are overshadowed by two conflicts. Russia’s war against Ukraine and the events in the Middle East, where since last year’s terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel, the Jewish state continues to retaliate in the Gaza Strip, and now he also focused on the extremist movement Hezbollah in Lebanon.
It is clear from the very geographical location of the conflicts that individual parties attach different importance to them. As for Russian aggression, the Gulf countries are largely self-interested.
Although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi visited Saudi Arabia, public criticism of Vladimir Putin’s regime is rarely heard in the region. Dubai, which is one of the seven emirates of the UAE, is even called Dubaigrad by some observers due to the large concentration of Russians.
“As the New York Times noted, Dubai has become a refuge for the Russian elite from war. In addition to Londongrad, a new term Dubaigrad appeared, when rich Russians fled there, especially at the beginning of the war. For example, purchases of real estate by Russians in Dubai increased by up to 67 percent in the first three months of 2022. It turns out that the United Arab Emirates has joined the narrow circle of strategic allies of Russia, despite the fact that it also carefully balances relations with Western countries.” she wrote in a recently published study for George Washington University, expert on the Persian Gulf region, Diana Galejeva.
“However, the most important thing is that Russian business has found a safe haven from Western sanctions, especially in the United Arab Emirates. Many Russian banks have transferred their funds to the UAE to protect them from potential seizure and continue to operate without restrictions from European regulations.” she reminded for the Italian Institute of International Political Studies, Middle East expert Chiara Lovotti.
At the end of April, representatives of the USA, Britain and the EU visited the UAE. Agency Reuters at the time, citing its sources, it wrote that they requested detailed trade information on exports to Russia and re-exports of dual-use goods that can have both civilian and military purposes.
The EU and the representatives of the Persian Gulf countries worked until the last moment before the summit, in which way they would mention Russia and Ukraine in the final communiqué. According to the portal Politico for example, Arab states proposed deleting a passage that talked about improving cooperation to circumvent sanctions, a clear reference to measures by Western allies on the war that target Moscow’s financial resources. Similarly, the parties involved discussed condemning the missile attacks against Ukraine, but the Gulf countries did not want the wording to mention Russia.
“Europeans can address the issue of the Gulf states’ relations with Russia by presenting them with three messages. First, that European support for Ukraine will remain strong even if the new American administration turns its back on Kiev. Second, that although they coordinate with it tactically, Russia is essentially a competitor of the Gulf states in the increasingly complex energy market and will attack the GCC shares in Asia, as evidenced by its constant cheating on OPEC+ production quotas. And thirdly, that Russia is a completely unreliable geopolitical partner a closer military partnership with Iran. Thanks to this, Russian hypersonic missiles entered the arsenal of the Houthis, who are formally still at war with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.” she stated in a report for the European Council on Foreign Relations, analyst Cinzia Biancoová.
Internal differences
While the EU is looking at Russia, the Gulf states are more worried about developments in the Middle East.
“In general, it can be said that there is more alignment between Europe and the GCC than between the US and the GCC when it comes to the current situation in Gaza, Lebanon and the wider region. However, we also still see important differences, which are also related to the lack of unity within the EU. The Gulf countries certainly had higher expectations that the Europeans would pressure Israel to de-escalate the situation and conclude a cease-fire in Gaza, and were disappointed when that did not happen. On the other hand, the Europeans hoped that the GCC states could better lead regional actors to a more unified and decisive diplomatic action,” Bianco told Pravda.
“The ongoing crises in Gaza and Lebanon complicate EU-GCC relations. Although the Gulf states do not see Europe as a major geopolitical player, they still see it as a supporter of Israel’s campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon. On the other hand, we see some potential for cooperation. Both sides have a real interest in avoiding with the further escalation, as evidenced by last year’s diplomatic activities to appease the main participants in the crisis. Although this initiative is a fertile ground for cooperation, many facts limit it, not only in the EU, but also in the GCC. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have established diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020 and provided direct or indirect support to Israel after October 7, 2023. But Oman and Kuwait have sharply criticized the actions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. while Qatar tried to mediate between Israel and Hamas. This shows that even within the GCC there is no unified position on key issues,” analyst Máté Szalai from the Dutch Clingendael Institute explained to Pravda.
He ordered the murder of a journalist, the EU welcomes him
Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia also came to the first summit of the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). In 2018, he approved the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in Istanbul. The West distanced itself from Muhammad bin Salman at first, but the crown prince is welcomed back almost everywhere. He met with EU representatives precisely on the anniversary of the murder of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was killed on 16 October 2018. The EU’s meeting with the GCC countries, i.e. with Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, can also be described as as a summit of the union with non-democratic countries. For example, the index of the Economist magazine ranks all these states among the authoritative.
Source: spravy.pravda.sk
