Alwaght-Top Russian senator has slammed Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir’s statement, in which he said that Qatar should send troops to Syria to ensure US military aid, saying it is nothing but blackmail.
Al-Jubeir’s statement followed another one made by US President Donald Trump, who pointed out that "we've spent $7 trillion in the West Asia region and we've got nothing for it. Nothing, less than nothing."
Trump called on Washington’s allies, “including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, and others” to form an Arab force to replace the US military in Syria.
“We have asked our partners to take greater responsibility for securing their home region, including contributing larger amounts of money,” he said.
Additionally, US military newspaper Stars and Stripes revealed last month that Trump had asked Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for $4 billion to spend on advancing Washington’s objectives in Syria, which Riyadh also shares.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Defense and Security Committee member Frants Klintsevich said "The Saudi foreign minister’s statement is nothing more but blackmail," Klintsevich said. "Saudi Arabia is pushing Qatar to take illegal actions."
At the same time, he was doubtful that the United States really planned to withdraw from Syria any time soon, despite Trump’s statements. "Saudi Arabia probably wants Qatar to join the operation alongside the US and not take its place, which is even stranger because Riyadh cannot but understand that it will only increase chaos and lead to new needless deaths," the Russian senator said, adding that in his view, the Saudis actually had other goals "that they prefer not to talk about."
Qatar hosts the United States’ Al Udeid Air Base, the largest in the West Asia region, where 11,000 US and US-led coalition forces are deployed.
