The United Arab Emirates has long been keen to establish itself as a
more independent regional power, and is trying to spin itself as a
potential broker of peace in the region.
To do that, they have to extricate themselves from historical ties to Saudi Arabia, and early efforts to do so have Saudi King Salman expressing “extreme irritation” with the UAE.
The UAE pivot towards its own interests was hardly unsurprising, they’ve
been telegraphing this for years. Likewise, this is just the latest GCC
member that’s become disillusioned with letting the Saudis unilaterally
steer the ship.
Qatar had a very public break with the rest of the GCC, and the Saudis
in particular, not that long ago. The Saudis have responded by
announcing their intention to surround Qatar with a canal to turn it
into an island, and then leaving nuclear waste in the vicinity.
The UAE probably won’t make a Qatar-style break, if they can help it,
though the increasing distance to the Saudis has already started a
secondary war in Yemen, where both sides factions are not at odds with
one another.
Saudis ‘Irritated’ as UAE Distances Themselves From Longtime Ally
UAE hoping to rebrand itself as a regional peacemaker
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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