International security

Vladimir Putin supports Qatar, a US partner criticized by Trump

Russian President Vladimir Putin reached out to the leader of Qatar just days after the Middle Eastern country was accused by neighbors of supporting terrorism.

"Vladimir Putin reaffirmed Russia's principled position in favor of settling crises by political and diplomatic means, through dialogue," the Kremlin said in a summary of Putin's conversation with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

That's a pointed show of support for Qatar, which finds itself isolated from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other Arab nations who believe the regime supports terrorism and is too friendly with Iran. It's also another example of Russia's cozying up to a critical U.S. partner in the Middle East at a time of tension between traditional allies.

"Russian-Qatari cooperation, primarily in the trade, economic and investment areas, was discussed, and the results of the meeting of the bilateral Intergovernmental Commission in April 2017 were highly praised," the Kremlin said.