Calling for the expulsion of the Russian ambassador and waving Syrian flags, hundreds of Qatar residents gathered in protest outside of the Russian embassy in West Bay on Tuesday.

Russia, along with China, recently vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on the Syrian crisis that condemned the Bashar Al Assad regime. Qatar had campaigned vigorously for the resolution to be passed.

A large police presence separated the crowd, which included women and children, from the embassy compound, while embassy staff stood on the roof of the building and watched the protest, local media reports stated.

Some were seen burning, spitting on and tearing photographs of Russian leaders Dimitry Medvedev and Vladymir Putin.

The protest is the latest wrinkle in Qatar’s complicated relationship with Russia.

Just last night, Russia’s UN ambassador denied reports circulating on the Internet that the country threatened to “wipe Qatar off the map.”

Also yesterday, GCC nations said they would pull their ambassadors from Syria and expel any Syrian envoys in their countries.

Credit: Photo by Qassim Rahmatullah/The Peninsula and republished with permission.