DISINFO: Countries in the Gulf are asking for Russia to be the guarantor of peace
SUMMARY
Despite the dominating narrative in the West, all the regional actors in West Asia, such as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia, are requesting for Russia to be the guarantor of peace and an immediate ceasefire in the region. The only one that can negotiate peace and a ceasefire is Russia.
RESPONSE
The claim is false, aimed to exploit the 2026 war between the US, Israel and Iran in order to portray Russia as an indispensable geopolitical actor.
While on the wake of the US-Israeli attack on Iran in February-March 2026 Vladimir Putin held a series of phone conversations with the leaders of some Gulf countries such as Qatar, Bahrein, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Iran. However, contrary to claims made in this disinformation story, these contacts were initiated by Russia and did not result from requests by the Arab states mentioned. This is clear from the Kremlin’s readouts of the calls.
Through this manipulation, the disinformation story aims to exaggerate Russia’s geopolitical influence, presenting it as a far more powerful and consequential actor than its actions in reality demonstrate. This could also be an attempt to counter a growing number of analysis about Russia’s alleged loss of weight in the global scene after the overthrow, capture or killing of many of its international allies, such as Bashar Al Assad in Syria, Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and Ali Khamenei in Iran.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Russia is backed by a global majority, that Russian policy rests on UN Charter, enjoys global support, that Russia has only grown stronger in the last few years, that Russia and China are defending the democratic world order, or that Russia is a global leader in democratic procedure.