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WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Tuesday designated Qatar as a serious non-NATO ally, a largely symbolic honour however one which was meant to convey his administration’s gratitude for the tiny Persian Gulf nation’s help with evacuations from Afghanistan and in ending final 12 months’s Israel-Hamas struggle in Gaza.
Biden introduced the designation throughout a gathering with the ruling chief of Qatar on the White Home. It comes as he appears for the gas-rich nation to step up once more to assist the West because it faces the prospect of a European power crunch if Russia invades Ukraine.
“Qatar is an efficient buddy and a dependable associate. It is lengthy overdue,” Biden stated hours earlier than formally informing Congress of the designation. The transfer could possibly be useful in Qatar’s bid to get US approval for a greater than USD 500 million sale of MQ-9 Reaper drones The request has been languishing since 2020, when Trump was nonetheless in workplace.
A senior administration official, who spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate the choice, stated the non-NATO ally designation was not tied to Biden’s hopes for Qatar to assist European allies with an power contingency plan ought to Russia invade Ukraine.
The official, who was not licensed to remark publicly, stated that the designation was for Qatar’s assist in Afghanistan and the Center East. Qatar performed a central function in aiding final summer time’s US army evacuations of Afghans who helped the US struggle effort together with Americans.
Qatar additionally hosts the largest US air base within the Center East and served as a go-between with the Taliban for the final three administrations as they tried to wind down America’s longest struggle. Qatar is the 18th nation to obtain this designation, the final being Brazil in 2019.
The designation offers advantages in protection commerce and safety cooperation, together with eligibility for mortgage packages and precedence supply for sure army gross sales. “We’re very comfortable and pleased with this nice relationship. We are going to proceed working collectively to seek out methods and means to carry peace in our area,” stated Qatar’s ruling emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
The nation was a vital go-between with Hamas throughout final 12 months’s 11-day battle that administration officers apprehensive may have became an extended and bloodier struggle.
Now, with some 100,000 Russian troops massed on the Ukraine border, specialists say Qatar – the world’s second-biggest exporter of liquefied pure fuel, or LNG – is raring to assist once more however would possibly solely be capable to provide restricted help if Russia additional disrupts the circulate of power provides to Europe.
“Qatar sees this as a chance to additional enhance its relationship with the US after Afghanistan. However it’ll be very laborious to do as a result of there is not extra provide,'” stated Yesar Al-Maleki, an power economist on the Center East Institute in Washington. Qatar is already producing at full capability with a lot of its provide beneath contract to Asia.
Even when some Pacific allies of the US – together with India, Japan and South Korea – are persuaded to divert some LNG orders it has contracted to Europe, it should solely have a small influence in softening the blow, based on power analysts.
White Home officers have been in talks with Asian companions about contingency planning, based on the senior administration official.
Biden and Tamim additionally used Monday’s assembly to debate Center East safety and the state of affairs in Afghanistan, the place humanitarian situations have deteriorated within the aftermath of final 12 months’s US withdrawal and the Taliban takeover. The leaders additionally mentioned US efforts to resurrect the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
However a doable contingency plan ought to Russia transfer to chop Europe from fuel provides was maybe probably the most urgent matter on the agenda. The Biden administration says the still-developing plan will not simply lean on “one or two” suppliers.
As an alternative, the hassle would require “a large number of sources” to make up for a Russian cutoff, based on a senior Biden administration official who spoke on situation of anonymity. Suppliers in Australia – the world’s largest LNG provider – in addition to Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and the USA are amongst those who Biden administration officers have seemed to help if wanted.
Pure fuel future costs surged final week amid rising market fears {that a} potential battle may disrupt Russian exports transiting by way of Ukraine to Europe.
The crunch has been worsened by Russia, which usually provides about 40 per cent of Europe’s pure fuel provide, lowering its exports by about 25 per cent within the fourth quarter of 2021 in contrast with the identical interval in 2020 regardless of excessive worldwide costs.
Any Russian invasion into Ukraine would nearly certainly set off financial sanctions from the US and its European allies. That might result in oil and fuel shortages world wide and, almost certainly, larger power costs that might ship tremors by way of the worldwide financial system.
Russia has repeatedly stated it has no intention of invading Ukraine even because the Biden administration has warned that army motion could possibly be “imminent”. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has dismissed considerations that Russia may reduce off European fuel provides as “pretend hysteria”.
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