Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07DOHA168
2007-02-14 14:45:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Doha
Cable title:  

PUTIN VISITS DOHA BUT NO TANGIBLE RESULTS

Tags:  PREL KPAL EPET UNSC RU IR QA 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7730
OO RUEHDE
DE RUEHDO #0168/01 0451445
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 141445Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY DOHA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6201
INFO RUEHHH/OPEC COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 0567
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 000168 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/13/2017
TAGS: PREL KPAL EPET UNSC RU IR QA
SUBJECT: PUTIN VISITS DOHA BUT NO TANGIBLE RESULTS


Derived from: DSCG 05-1, B,D.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 000168

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/13/2017
TAGS: PREL KPAL EPET UNSC RU IR QA
SUBJECT: PUTIN VISITS DOHA BUT NO TANGIBLE RESULTS


Derived from: DSCG 05-1, B,D.


1. (C) Summary. Russian president Vladimir Putin met with the
Qatari Amir in Doha February 12. The two agreed on the need
for a Middle East peace conference, the date and locale of
which was undefined. The two also agreed on holding
discussions on an OPEC-like organization for gas producers at
the international gas forum in Doha in April. Agreements on
consular matters, oil, bilateral investment, and business
were signed, but there were no concrete projects to emerge.
End Summary.


2. (U) Russian president Vladimir Putin visited Doha for five
hours February 12 midway through his Middle East tour also
including Riyadh and Amman. Putin's meeting with the Qatari
Amir, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, included a one-on-one
session; Putin later attended a press conference with the
Amir. Putin was accompanied by his foreign minister, the
president of Lukoil, the deputy minister of economic
development, the president of the Russian-Arab Business
Council, and the president of Gazprom. Russian and Qatari
officials signed an agreement on cooperation in consular
matters, a memorandum of understanding between Lukoil and
Qatar Petroleum, an agreement on protection of investments,
and an agreement setting up a Russian-Qatari Business
Council.

--------------
Readout from the Russian Embassy
--------------


3. (C) The DCM at the Russian Embassy, Pavel Yakovenko, told
P/E Chief February 14 that the heads of state discussed and
agreed on a range of issues. Putin proposed organizing a
Middle East peace conference similar to the Madrid conference
that led to the Oslo Accords in the early 1990s, and the Amir
supported the idea. Yakovenko said the idea was not new, and
the date, place, and participants had yet to be determined.
The two leaders discussed the idea of an OPEC-like structure
to regulate natural gas prices, and they agreed to address
the question at the a forum that Doha will host in April.
Yakovenko said that Russia, the world's largest gas producer
and owner of the largest reserves, believes that gas is

"cheap" in BTU terms relative to oil and this is unfair. He
said gas exporters need a "structure" to help formulate
prices, though the structure would necessarily be different
from OPEC because of the differences in supply, marketing,
and contracts. He said the idea is not new.


4. (C) Yakovenko reported that a major focus of the visit was
boosting bilateral trade ties. He pegged Russia's trade with
Qatar at a mere USD 5 million, and said the two leaders
discussed Russian investment opportunities in iron and steel
and Qatari opportunities in Russian equities, particularly
Gazprom. Yakovenko said that all discussions were "in
principle" and no deals were struck. He described the
creation of a Russian-Qatari Business Council, which was
formally inaugurated the following day at a forum for Russian
businessmen, as an accomplishment.

--------------
Security Council Cooperation
--------------


5. (C) Russia and Qatar are in "close agreement" on a range
of important issues from the Middle East peace process to
security for the region, Yakovenko said. He said the two
countries are in close consultation at the UN Security
Council. Regarding Iran, Yakovenko said that Qatar "will do
anything" as long as there is consensus among the Security
Council's permanent members.


6. (C) Putin's visit was "difficult" to bring about, the
Russian diplomat, a 30-year Middle East veteran, said. The
Amir visited Russia in 2001, and the two met again in Asia in

2003. In 2004, the assassination of former Chechen president
Zalemkhan Yanderbayev in Doha, presumably by Russian agents,
strained relations, although the Russian Ambassador remained
in Doha. Yakovenko said that Putin's visit signaled a turning
of that page.

--------------
Qatari Observers Skeptical
--------------


7. (C) Qatari intellectuals were largely distrustful of Putin
and his objectives. One Embassy contact, an academic, said
that Russia had lost the cold war due to its internal
economic problems. It is still regarded as having major
internal difficulties, and for this reason will not be
successful in leveraging its international political weight.
He observed that Russia's foreign policy is shifting not just

DOHA 00000168 002 OF 002


in the Middle East but in other regions as well.


8. (C) Another Qatari thinker, in the media sector, told us
that Qatari businessmen will remain unlikely to invest in
Russia because of its lack of transparency, security
concerns, and uncertain legal framework. He said that Arabs
have a negative attitude toward Russia because of its
treatment of the Muslim population in Chechnya. He said it
would be difficult for Russia to counter the strong
preferences of the Gulf's elites for American education,
economic and business practices, popular culture, travel, and
investment. He believes Putin "could make some progress"
because of popular dissatisfaction with American foreign
policy "if he markets himself in the right way."

--------------
Limited Press Analysis
--------------


9. (U) Qatari press devoted headline coverage to the visit
and the agreements that emerged. Editorial analysis was
superficial and praised both leaders for their vision in
supporting Middle East peace.

--------------
Comment
--------------


10. (C) The visit of the Russian president to Qatar focused
on a number of hot issues: Middle East peace, an OPEC-like
organization for gas producers, and Russia's renewed embrace
of the Arab region. However, despite the four agreements
signed here, nothing concrete emerged: there is no date or
place for the proposed Middle East peace conference; the
gas-OPEC idea has been kicked down the road to April; no
investment projects were signed; and Qatari investors remain
unconvinced. Russia's courtship of Gulf states will evidently
be a long one.
UNTERMEYER