ABSTRACT
In November 1985, Oman celebrated the fifteenth anniversary of the accession to power of its ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said. These celebrations were viewed with quiet disapproval by many in the rest of the Gulf states; they clearly did not think that the prevailing economic atmosphere warranted such lavishness. Aside from the support of the People's Democratic Republic (PDR) of Yemen, it also received aid from Iraq, which had refused to establish diplomatic links with Oman after Sultan Qaboos had come to power. In his foreign policy, Sultan Qaboos has committed Oman to a course which has at times set it apart from its neighbours and the rest of the Arab world; here again, he has followed in his father's footsteps. Oman broke with tradition in another way in 1985 when it became the second Gulf state to establish diplomatic ties with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics(USSR).
