Despite mostly opposing the regime of Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian Arab Spring, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have essentially come around to recognizing that it is most pragmatic to have ties with Damascus. The recent rapprochements of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with Assad’s regime underscore this trend, as do expectations that Kuwait will soon follow Manama and Abu Dhabi’s lead. Oman has maintained official ties with Damascus on all points since 2011.
This reacceptance of Syria plays out against the backdrop where GCC states have been moving toward increasingly normalized relations with Syria’s neighbor, Israel. Although a formal establishment of diplomatic relations between GCC members and the Jewish State might not be expected in the near term, assuming Israel continues refusing to recognize a Palestinian state, the Arab Gulf monarchies are warming up to Tel Aviv. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s historic visit to Oman in October, other Israeli government officials and athletes’ trips to Qatar and the UAE and the Saudi crown prince’s rhetoric about Israel and Palestine underscore the GCC states’ keenness to explore closer ties with Israel despite the political risks of doing so.
As the Arabian Peninsula’s sheikdoms pursue increasingly normalized ties with Damascus and Tel Aviv, Kuwait is displaying its independent approach to regional politics and asserting its traditional role as a champion of pan-Arab causes in diplomatic forums. While Kuwaiti officials are joining their GCC counterparts in terms of support for bringing Syria’s government back into the Arab League from the cold, Kuwait is not on board when it comes to Israel.
Late last year, Kuwait stood by Lebanon at the UN Security Council, accusing Israel’s Operation Northern Shield of being in violation of Lebanese sovereignty. Kuwaiti officials emphasized that Israel’s actions, purportedly to counter the alleged threat of Hezbollah’s tunnels, posed a greater threat to regional peace than any conduct on the part of Iran’s Lebanese ally, which the GCC bloc recognizes as a terrorist organization. Notable was that Bahrain expressed support for Israel in that episode. Also in 2018, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, the Kuwaiti government considered opening an embassy in Palestine, marking another point of contention between Kuwait City and Tel Aviv.
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