Blockade against Qatar Threatens Syria Peace Efforts: Putin

Putin made the remarks on Tuesday during a phone conversation with Saudi King Salman during which they discussed the unfolding Persian Gulf crisis after the Saudi regime led some allied countries in cutting ties and imposing a blockade on Qatar.
 
The call came after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and closed their air, sea and land borders for the country, accusing it of supporting extremists and Iran, charges that Qatar has rejected terming them as baseless.
 
A statement issued by the Kremlin after the call said Putin and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud "touched on the aggravated situation around Qatar, which unfortunately does not help consolidate joint efforts in resolving the conflict in Syria and fighting the terrorist threat."
 
The Kremlin said Putin and Salman also discussed developing ties in various areas and expressed an intention to "activate bilateral cooperation".
 
Late last month, Putin met the Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Russian capital of Moscow for talks on the Syrian conflict as well as cutting oil production.