Russia, Kuwait discuss common ground in regional conflicts

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Calibri; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} span.s2 {text-decoration: underline ; font-kerning: none; color: #042eee; -webkit-text-stroke: 0px #042eee} Kuwaiti parliament Speaker Marzouq al-Ghanem delivered an address April 22 to members of Russia’s upper house, the Federation Council. During his speech, Ghanem extolled the “solid and deep-rooted partnership” between Kuwait and Russia, and praised Russia for its opposition to US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize the Golan Heights as Israeli territory.

Ghanem’s words of praise for Russian foreign policy is intriguing as they come at a time when US-Kuwait relations are getting stronger. In August 2018, the US military opened its largest aerial supply port in the Middle East near Kuwait International Airport, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo glorified the unprecedented strength of the US-Kuwait alliance during his visit to the country in late March. Despite these developments, Russia hopes to cooperate more closely with Kuwait on resolving regional conflicts, as both countries wish to burnish their reputations as conflict arbiters and establish an inclusive regional order that does not isolate Iran or Qatar.

Russia’s diplomatic outreach to Kuwait has focused on increasing bilateral cooperation on ending the civil wars in Syria and Yemen and promoting intra-Gulf reconciliation. Russian policymakers believe that both countries can cooperate in Syria, as they share similar positions on the need for Bashar al-Assad’s government to normalize relations with other Arab countries and on investing in a Syrian government-led reconstruction process.

Since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, Kuwait has consistently been more circumspect than Saudi Arabia and Qatar about isolating Assad’s government. Although Kuwait closed its embassy in Syria in 2012, it broke with the majority of its Gulf allies by keeping a Syrian Embassy open in Kuwait City. The Kuwaiti government also refused to officially sanction arms transfers to Syrian rebel forces, though Kuwaiti businessmen still donated funds to Islamist opposition factions in Syria. Despite alleged countervailing pressure from the United States and Saudi Arabia, Kuwait has supported Russia’s efforts to normalize Syria’s relationships with other Arab countries. During his meeting with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in March, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah claimed he would be “very happy” with the return of Syria to the “Arab family” and described Syria as a “pivotal state in the region.”