Vladimir Putin Supports Qatar, A US Partner Criticized by Trump

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Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt severed diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting "extremism".

Gaza's Islamic Hamas rulers, a major recipient of Qatari aid, have called Saudi Arabia's call for Qatar to cut ties with the Palestinian militant group "regrettable" and said it contradicts traditional Arab support for the Palestinian cause.

Since the diplomatic row erupted, slogans against and in support of Qatar have been among the top topics discussed on Twitter in Arabic, which is a hugely popular medium of expression in the Arab world, particularly in Saudi Arabia.

That said, while Qatar has few options for taking retaliatory steps, it prefers to have the U.S. military in the country "because it gives them an external guarantee of security", Kristian Ulrichsen, Chatham House associate fellow in London, told The National, a media outlet based in the United Arab Emirates.

The airline can operate flights linking Indonesia to destinations apart from the countries that have "a diplomatic problem with Qatar", it added in an emailed statement.

Qatar was a part of a Gulf military coalition that helped Bahrain put down a 2011 popular uprising the government claimed was supported by Iran to foster instability in the Gulf island.

When avoiding Saudi Arabia, their massive - and only - neighbour, Qatar's planes are having to take more indirect routes, leading to longer flight times.

In a call to the Saudi King Salman, President Trump has urged unity in the region to fight extremism, however, his tweets show support for Saudi Arabia despite the fact that Qatar hosts the biggest USA military base in the region.

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No sooner had Trump left Riyadh than the United States' partners in the region moved against Qatar and its young emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, another American ally. That crisis ended eight months later, but the roots of it are clearly seen in the latest dispute.

The announcement on Thursday named in a statement 59 people, including Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf al-Qaradawi, and 12 entities, among them Qatari-funded charities Qatar Charity and Eid Charity. "So it is a very serious issue". The countries also said they would eject Qatar's diplomats.

"Doha now is completely isolated". "Doha now needs to take serious steps very rapidly to placate not only their neighbors but also their allies around the world".

Earlier this week, UAE authorities announced that social media posts sympathetic to Qatar are punishable by three to 15 years in jail, or a fine of at least 500,000 AED (US$135,000).

Jubeir said he had not been officially informed of any US investigation into the alleged hacking of Qatar's news agency, a development which is part of the dispute.

Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told CNN that FBI investigators have confirmed that the agency was hacked and a fake article was inserted into the agency's system.

It did not say who might have carried out the hack.

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