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How Turkey and Qatar are playing an outsized role in Trump's new Middle East
Turkey and Qatar's regional rivals face several setbacks as the two countries seal deals with US on energy and security in Syria
11.06.2025
By Sean Mathews
Source: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-and-qatar-outsized-role-trump-new-middle-east
Turkey and Qatar are making themselves crucial to US President Donald Trump’s reshaping of the Middle East.
Look no further than in Syria, where Qatari gas and cash, along with Turkish military might, are helping war-ravaged Syria back on its feet while Trump tries to fulfil his promise to pull the plug on western interventionists and “nation builders”.
The two countries' rising stock is not going unnoticed among Arab officials.
“Trump has too much on his plate; China, Iran talks, the war in Ukraine. He doesn’t want to intervene. In Syria, he has these two local allies who don’t mind getting involved in the nitty-gritty details of Syria’s reconstruction. He is going to lean on them,” one senior Arab official told Middle East Eye.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia are paying the salaries of Syrian government employees. In March, Qatar began supplying gas to Syria via Jordan. Meanwhile, Turkey’s government is in talks with Damascus on a defence pact amid Israeli air strikes in Syria.
That Turkey and Qatar are the regional powers most active in Syria should not come as a surprise.
Turkey shares a long border with Syria and was the last true backer of rebels who fought to oust Bashar al-Assad after most Gulf monarchies gave up on their cause. Qatar was the exception. It was the sole Gulf state to recognise and host Syria’s opposition.
Conversely, the UAE made a big bet on rehabilitating Assad.
MEE revealed that the UAE was negotiating a grand bargain to lift US sanctions on Assad in return for reducing Iran’s influence. The talks continued up until the last minute. Assad was toppled in an offensive led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, whose commander, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is Syria’s new president.
The biggest deal Turkey and Qatar have made in Syria so far was in May.
Along with the US, they signed a $7bn energy agreement that envisions the three countries building four gas power plants in Syria and one solar plant to boost the war-ravaged country’s meagre energy supplies. Qatar’s UCC construction and energy company, owned by the prominent al-Khayyat family, is set to lead the project.
Speaking in Damascus at the signing ceremony, US envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack took the opportunity to praise the “alignment of these amazing countries".
“A young and prosperous Qatar, one of the most incredible and ancient civilisations in Syria; [and] one of the most dominant empires that ever existed in the Ottoman Empire and the succession of Türkiye.”
Barrack framed Syria as the poster child for Trump’s vision of a Middle East, where the US was empowering local countries to redress the wrong of Sykes-Picot, the agreement that colonial Britain and France used to divide Syria during WWI.
“That mistake cost generations. We will not make it again,” he wrote on X.
'Need to address the PKK'
If there is any doubt about whose voice the US will give the most credence to in Syria, look to Ankara, where Barrack also serves as Trump’s ambassador to Turkey.
“The Trump administration understands the Turks have a vital national security interest in Syria. He respects that in a way others in Washington haven’t,” Robert Ford, the last US ambassador to Syria, told MEE.
During the Biden administration, Syria was a sore point in US-Turkey ties. US troops first entered Syria in 2014 to fight the Islamic State militant (IS) group. They partnered with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Turkey views the SDF as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The PKK has waged a decades-long guerrilla war in southern Turkey and is labelled a terrorist organisation by the US and the European Union.
“You can’t have a stable Syria without addressing the PKK. The US has to work with the Turks, otherwise there will be another war,” Bassam Barabandi, a former Syrian diplomat and opposition activist, told MEE.
During his first term in office, Trump tried to withdraw US troops from Syria. His own officials hamstrung him, and his former defence secretary, Jim Mattis, resigned over a partial troop withdrawal.
Although US troops were ostensibly in Syria to fight IS, they came to be seen as a force denying territory to Iran. With Tehran’s ally Assad gone, that rationale no longer exists.
Trump himself says Turkey has “taken over Syria”, alluding to its close ties to Sharaa. He appears to sense this as his chance to withdraw troops, despite pleas from Israel and the SDF to keep them there. Barrack told Turkish media in June that the US planned to downsize from eight bases to one in northeastern Syria.
How Trump's allies view Turkey and Qatar
Turkey and Qatar have long been seen as close partners. In a sense, they complement each other. Turkey has the second largest army in Nato, but is cash poor. Qatar is one of the world’s top exporters of Liquefied Natural Gas, but has just 300,000 nationals.
Turkey has a military base in Qatar. Doha made tens of billions of dollars in investments in Turkey during its inflation crisis, providing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with an economic lifeline.
The two countries' alignment was solidified during the 2011 Arab Spring, when they backed popular protests against rulers like Assad in Syria and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. Saudi Arabia and the UAE accused them of supporting political Islamists who Abu Dhabi and Riyadh feared would unsettle their monarchies. The rift got nasty in 2017, when a Saudi-led blockade was imposed on Qatar.
That Trump should welcome Qatar and Turkish investment in Syria now shows how rapidly the region has reorganised itself. In 2017, he gave a White House speech throwing his weight behind the blockade. Until recently, Trump’s Middle East director at the National Security Council was Eric Trager, who has been critical of Qatar.
“You certainly have those in the administration, not the Witkoffs or Barracks, who still believe in a Muslim Brotherhood boogyman. This is deep-seated. So it's interesting to see Trump’s really close cohort move beyond this,” Natasha Hall, a Syria expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS, )said, referring to US Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Both of Trump’s close advisors enjoy good relations with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The UAE's hotspot troubles
The Arab Spring descended into a slew of conflicts, of which Syria was just one.
After the Nato-led removal of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, Turkey backed a government in Tripoli while Saudi Arabia and the UAE threw their support behind a rogue general and one-time CIA asset, Khalifa Haftar.
The UAE also backed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the general who overthrew the democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, whom Erdogan backed.
Turkey and Qatar’s growing clout in the Middle East vis-a-vis Syria contrasts with mounting troubles for the UAE in some of these hotspots.
Ties between Egypt and the UAE are becoming seriously frayed, although both sides are trying to downplay it, Arab officials tell MEE.
Sisi’s economy is in crisis, but he has failed to push through the reforms that the UAE, his top backer, wants. The Emiratis have lobbied against Cairo in Washington, MEE revealed.
The UAE’s ambassador to the US publicly backed a plan floated by Trump to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza - a thought that unnerves Egyptian generals.
Libya remains divided. Haftar’s bid to conquer Tripoli failed in 2020. His son and likely successor, Saddam, has even courted Turkey and Qatar as their power rises. He visited Doha and Ankara this year.
The parliament in Eastern Libya controlled by him is weighing whether to agree to a contentious maritime deal that Turkey favours.
As Turkey and Qatar sign energy deals in Damascus under US auspices, the UAE is bogged down in a brutal civil war in Sudan. There it is backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against the Sudanese army, which is backed by Turkey, Egypt and Iran.
Litmus test
Syria is going to be a test case as the first post-Arab Spring country to be rebuilt after the 2021 al-Ula agreement, in which the Gulf states agreed to put their differences behind them and mend fences. Qatar and Saudi Arabia have patched up ties, but the Qataris and Emiratis still have a chilly relationship. The same goes for the Turks.
“Syria’s greatest benefit is that Assad was ousted after al-Ula,” a Syria analyst in the UAE told MEE, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Trump announced in Saudi Arabia that he was lifting all US sanctions on Syria, and he credited both Erdogan and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with convincing him to do so.
“The Saudis have been just as instrumental as the Turks and Qataris, if not more, in convincing Trump to drop sanctions on Syria. They want a stable Syria in order to focus on their own economic development at home,” Anna Jacobs, a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute, told MEE.
“The new Saudi looks for interest, not emotion or ideology,” Barabandi told MEE. “They are with Turkey and Qatar on Syria. The US’s goal is to facilitate the flow of GCC money into Syria. That’s it.”
Even the UAE is stepping in and trying to gain influence. In May, state-owned Dubai Ports World signed a pledge to invest $800m to modernise the port of Tartous.
The analyst in the UAE said Sharaa’s government welcomed the UAE’s investment in Tartus because it needed a country that was seen as agreeable to Russia, which still has a military base there. France’s CMA CGM shipping inked a 30-year deal to operate Latakia port in Syria.
“Sharaa couldn’t have Turkey or a European state come in. Russia would have complained about that. The UAE is a friend of Russia,” the analyst said.
The UAE’s Al Habtoor group, a massive conglomerate that spans real estate to the automotive industry, is set to send a delegation to Syria this week.
Ford said that Turkey, Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia all have a convergence of interests in Syria to ensure its transition is stable, and Iran, Assad’s old patron, stays out.
“I’m not saying Abu Dhabi is comfortable with a conservative Islamist in power, but they all want to see Sharaa reduce Iran’s influence,” he said.
No nation-building
The UAE, which has the closest ties to Israel among Gulf states, also brokered secret talks between Syria and Israel, Reuters reported in May.
Israel pummelled Syria after Assad’s removal and has sent troops to occupy a swath of the southeast, south of Damascus. MEE previously reported that the US lobbied Turkey and Israel into deconfliction talks.
“I think the Emiratis, and other Gulf states' number one concern is that there not be an outbreak of violence between the Turks and Israelis in Syria or the Iranians and Israelis,” Ford said.
He said while Turkey and Qatar have stepped up in Syria, it's a leap to say the US is recognising it as a sphere of their influence.
“That is too nineteenth century,” he said. “The Trump people don’t object to Turkey and Qatar getting involved in Syria. But they don’t object to the Saudis and Emiratis getting involved either. Ultimately, the goal is for commerce between Israel and Syria.”
Still, regional officials say Sharaa’s ascent to power has bolstered Turkey and Qatar’s power in the Levant.
“Sharaa will take Emirati money, but he won’t trust them with security,” the Arab official told MEE. “The UAE is on their back foot.”
However, the real change is that Syria is not talking about elections.
“Sharaa has gone out of his way to prove that he won’t be part of any political Islamist movement beyond Syria’s borders,” the UAE-based analyst said. “And he isn’t mentioning democracy.”
Turkey and Qatar's regional rivals face several setbacks as the two countries seal deals with US on energy and security in Syria
11.06.2025
By Sean Mathews
Source: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-
Turkey and Qatar are making themselves crucial to US President Donald Trump’s reshaping of the Middle East.
Look no further than in Syria, where Qatari gas and cash, along with Turkish military might, are helping war-
The two countries' rising stock is not going unnoticed among Arab officials.
“Trump has too much on his plate; China, Iran talks, the war in Ukraine. He doesn’t want to intervene. In Syria, he has these two local allies who don’t mind getting involved in the nitty-
Qatar and Saudi Arabia are paying the salaries of Syrian government employees. In March, Qatar began supplying gas to Syria via Jordan. Meanwhile, Turkey’s government is in talks with Damascus on a defence pact amid Israeli air strikes in Syria.
That Turkey and Qatar are the regional powers most active in Syria should not come as a surprise.
Turkey shares a long border with Syria and was the last true backer of rebels who fought to oust Bashar al-
Conversely, the UAE made a big bet on rehabilitating Assad.
MEE revealed that the UAE was negotiating a grand bargain to lift US sanctions on Assad in return for reducing Iran’s influence. The talks continued up until the last minute. Assad was toppled in an offensive led by Hay'at Tahrir al-
The biggest deal Turkey and Qatar have made in Syria so far was in May.
Along with the US, they signed a $7bn energy agreement that envisions the three countries building four gas power plants in Syria and one solar plant to boost the war-
Speaking in Damascus at the signing ceremony, US envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack took the opportunity to praise the “alignment of these amazing countries".
“A young and prosperous Qatar, one of the most incredible and ancient civilisations in Syria; [and] one of the most dominant empires that ever existed in the Ottoman Empire and the succession of Türkiye.”
Barrack framed Syria as the poster child for Trump’s vision of a Middle East, where the US was empowering local countries to redress the wrong of Sykes-
“That mistake cost generations. We will not make it again,” he wrote on X.
'Need to address the PKK'
If there is any doubt about whose voice the US will give the most credence to in Syria, look to Ankara, where Barrack also serves as Trump’s ambassador to Turkey.
“The Trump administration understands the Turks have a vital national security interest in Syria. He respects that in a way others in Washington haven’t,” Robert Ford, the last US ambassador to Syria, told MEE.
During the Biden administration, Syria was a sore point in US-
Turkey views the SDF as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The PKK has waged a decades-
“You can’t have a stable Syria without addressing the PKK. The US has to work with the Turks, otherwise there will be another war,” Bassam Barabandi, a former Syrian diplomat and opposition activist, told MEE.
During his first term in office, Trump tried to withdraw US troops from Syria. His own officials hamstrung him, and his former defence secretary, Jim Mattis, resigned over a partial troop withdrawal.
Although US troops were ostensibly in Syria to fight IS, they came to be seen as a force denying territory to Iran. With Tehran’s ally Assad gone, that rationale no longer exists.
Trump himself says Turkey has “taken over Syria”, alluding to its close ties to Sharaa. He appears to sense this as his chance to withdraw troops, despite pleas from Israel and the SDF to keep them there. Barrack told Turkish media in June that the US planned to downsize from eight bases to one in northeastern Syria.
How Trump's allies view Turkey and Qatar
Turkey and Qatar have long been seen as close partners. In a sense, they complement each other. Turkey has the second largest army in Nato, but is cash poor. Qatar is one of the world’s top exporters of Liquefied Natural Gas, but has just 300,000 nationals.
Turkey has a military base in Qatar. Doha made tens of billions of dollars in investments in Turkey during its inflation crisis, providing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with an economic lifeline.
The two countries' alignment was solidified during the 2011 Arab Spring, when they backed popular protests against rulers like Assad in Syria and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. Saudi Arabia and the UAE accused them of supporting political Islamists who Abu Dhabi and Riyadh feared would unsettle their monarchies. The rift got nasty in 2017, when a Saudi-
That Trump should welcome Qatar and Turkish investment in Syria now shows how rapidly the region has reorganised itself. In 2017, he gave a White House speech throwing his weight behind the blockade. Until recently, Trump’s Middle East director at the National Security Council was Eric Trager, who has been critical of Qatar.
“You certainly have those in the administration, not the Witkoffs or Barracks, who still believe in a Muslim Brotherhood boogyman. This is deep-
Both of Trump’s close advisors enjoy good relations with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The UAE's hotspot troubles
The Arab Spring descended into a slew of conflicts, of which Syria was just one.
After the Nato-
The UAE also backed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-
Turkey and Qatar’s growing clout in the Middle East vis-
Ties between Egypt and the UAE are becoming seriously frayed, although both sides are trying to downplay it, Arab officials tell MEE.
Sisi’s economy is in crisis, but he has failed to push through the reforms that the UAE, his top backer, wants. The Emiratis have lobbied against Cairo in Washington, MEE revealed.
The UAE’s ambassador to the US publicly backed a plan floated by Trump to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza -
Libya remains divided. Haftar’s bid to conquer Tripoli failed in 2020. His son and likely successor, Saddam, has even courted Turkey and Qatar as their power rises. He visited Doha and Ankara this year.
The parliament in Eastern Libya controlled by him is weighing whether to agree to a contentious maritime deal that Turkey favours.
As Turkey and Qatar sign energy deals in Damascus under US auspices, the UAE is bogged down in a brutal civil war in Sudan. There it is backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against the Sudanese army, which is backed by Turkey, Egypt and Iran.
Litmus test
Syria is going to be a test case as the first post-
“Syria’s greatest benefit is that Assad was ousted after al-
Trump announced in Saudi Arabia that he was lifting all US sanctions on Syria, and he credited both Erdogan and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with convincing him to do so.
“The Saudis have been just as instrumental as the Turks and Qataris, if not more, in convincing Trump to drop sanctions on Syria. They want a stable Syria in order to focus on their own economic development at home,” Anna Jacobs, a non-
“The new Saudi looks for interest, not emotion or ideology,” Barabandi told MEE. “They are with Turkey and Qatar on Syria. The US’s goal is to facilitate the flow of GCC money into Syria. That’s it.”
Even the UAE is stepping in and trying to gain influence. In May, state-
The analyst in the UAE said Sharaa’s government welcomed the UAE’s investment in Tartus because it needed a country that was seen as agreeable to Russia, which still has a military base there. France’s CMA CGM shipping inked a 30-
“Sharaa couldn’t have Turkey or a European state come in. Russia would have complained about that. The UAE is a friend of Russia,” the analyst said.
The UAE’s Al Habtoor group, a massive conglomerate that spans real estate to the automotive industry, is set to send a delegation to Syria this week.
Ford said that Turkey, Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia all have a convergence of interests in Syria to ensure its transition is stable, and Iran, Assad’s old patron, stays out.
“I’m not saying Abu Dhabi is comfortable with a conservative Islamist in power, but they all want to see Sharaa reduce Iran’s influence,” he said.
No nation-
Israel pummelled Syria after Assad’s removal and has sent troops to occupy a swath of the southeast, south of Damascus. MEE previously reported that the US lobbied Turkey and Israel into deconfliction talks.
“I think the Emiratis, and other Gulf states' number one concern is that there not be an outbreak of violence between the Turks and Israelis in Syria or the Iranians and Israelis,” Ford said.
He said while Turkey and Qatar have stepped up in Syria, it's a leap to say the US is recognising it as a sphere of their influence.
“That is too nineteenth century,” he said. “The Trump people don’t object to Turkey and Qatar getting involved in Syria. But they don’t object to the Saudis and Emiratis getting involved either. Ultimately, the goal is for commerce between Israel and Syria.”
Still, regional officials say Sharaa’s ascent to power has bolstered Turkey and Qatar’s power in the Levant.
“Sharaa will take Emirati money, but he won’t trust them with security,” the Arab official told MEE. “The UAE is on their back foot.”
However, the real change is that Syria is not talking about elections.
“Sharaa has gone out of his way to prove that he won’t be part of any political Islamist movement beyond Syria’s borders,” the UAE-