TEHRAN, October 26 - Qatar said Thursday it had signed a defense agreement with Russia, the latest in a series of such steps by the emirate since the Persian Gulf diplomatic crisis erupted in June.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - The announcement followed what Moscow said was the first trip ever undertaken by a Russian defense minister to the Persian Gulf state.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt are boycotting Qatar, accusing it of backing extremism -- charges that Doha denies.
The defense agreement was announced after Moscow's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu met Qatar's emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah in Doha on Wednesday.
"The two ministers signed (a) military technical cooperation agreement during the meeting," a statement from Qatar's defense ministry said.
It added that a "memorandum of understanding" was also signed relating to air defense and military supplies.
No further details were given, Reuters reported.
In the almost 150-days of the Persian Gulf crisis, Qatar has announced a $12 billion (10 billion euros) deal to buy F-15 jets from the US, a five billion euro deal with Italy for seven navy vessels and an agreement to buy 24 Typhoon fighter jets from Britain.
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