Qatar: Godfather to prisoners exchange deals in Syria An opposition fighter looking at busses moving Kafriya and al-Fu’ah fighters - 19 July 2018 (Getty Images) Enab Baladi – Ali Darwish Over recent years, the State of Qatar has emerged as a regional power in the Middle East in terms of foreign policy, economy, and charity works. Its influence was very clear in Syria, particularly after the beginning of the Syrian revolution in 2011. One side of the Qatari influence in Syria was manifested by its mediation efforts, which played a significant role in solving many prisoners exchange deals in Syria, including the release deals of Lebanese hostages in exchange for Turkish civilian pilots, elements, and officers of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), American journalist Peter Theo Curtis, the Maaloula nuns, several Lebanese soldiers, besides its pivotal role in the Four Towns Agreement.