French Media Claims Saudi King Ponders ‘Military Action’ Over Qatari S-400 Deal

A prominent French newspaper warned that Riyadh may seek to thwart a possible sale of Russian-made anti-aircraft weaponry to Qatar due to concerns about the safety of Saudi airspace.

The king of Saudi Arabia has allegedly written a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron, asking the latter to help prevent the sale of a Russian-made S-400 air defense system and warning that otherwise Riyadh may have to resort to drastic measures, Le Monde reports.

According to the newspaper, which managed to obtain the letter from a French source familiar with the matter, King Salman expressed his "deep concern" about the ongoing negotiations between Doha and Moscow, arguing that the deployment of S-400 anti-air systems in Qatar may threaten the security of Saudi airspace.

In that case, the letter reportedly warns, "the kingdom would be ready to take all necessary measures to eliminate this defense system, including military action."

According to Le Monde, the king finishes his letter by asking President Macron to help prevent the S-400 deal and preserve the stability in the region.

Saudi Arabia also signed an agreement with Russia to purchase S-400 weapon systems and as Saudi Ambassador to Russia Rayed Krimly told Sputnik, Riyadh is currently working on the "technical details of the agreement."

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In December 2017, Qatar's ambassador to Russia Fahad bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah revealed in an interview with RIA Novosti that Doha was in talks with Moscow on a purchase of Russian-made air defense systems, namely the S-400 Triumf and Pantsir-S1.

However, there current status of these negotiations remains unknown and it is unclear when S-400s may actually be deployed in Qatar.