'No decision' on Russian arms deal, Qatar emir says

Saudi Arabia's King Salman previously wrote to French president Emmanuel Macron over his concerns about a potential Qatar-Russia arms deal.
2 min read
06 July, 2018
Putin and the Emir of Qatar at the Kremlin, Moscow [Getty]
The emir of Qatar spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday about buying an advanced air defence system, but no decision has been taken. 

News that Qatar might purchase the S-400 missile system has alarmed its neighbour Saudi Arabia, which, along with Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt, launched a land, air and naval blockade of the gas-rich island-nation.

The quartet of Arab countries accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism and developing close ties with regional rival Iran, a charge Doha strongly denies. 

French newspaper Le Monde reported last month that Saudi Arabia had even written to France warning that it might take military action if Qatar went ahead with the purchase.

"I don't want to go into details," Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said at a press conference in Paris on Friday after talks with President Emmanuel Macron when asked about the issue.

"There is no agreement. It's true that we discussed it, we talked about it."

The S-400 is the latest generation surface-to-air defence system developed by Russia and is considered by NATO countries to pose a threat to their aircraft.

Russia has deployed it in Syria and is also in talks to sell it to NATO member Turkey, which has alarmed the US.

Qatar's emir last met Putin in March in Moscow, and they are set to hold talks again during the latter stages of the World Cup in Russia, local media reported.

Qatar's ambassador to Russia previously announced in January that Doha was in an "advanced stage" of acquiring the S-400.

Agencies contributed to this report. 

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