diff --git a/operators/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/remotecluster/elasticsearch.go b/operators/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/remotecluster/elasticsearch.go
index 0fcfe393ff..ded51028fb 100644
--- a/operators/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/remotecluster/elasticsearch.go
+++ b/operators/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/remotecluster/elasticsearch.go
@@ -75,7 +75,14 @@ func UpdateRemoteCluster(
 		}
 	}
 	// Update state
-	reconcileState.UpdateRemoteClusters(currentRemoteClusters)
+	// If the map is empty then it must be stored as nil, not an empty map. It is retrieved as a nil value from the API
+	// and it could lead to some reconcile loops that never converge on Openshift.
+	if len(currentRemoteClusters) > 0 {
+		reconcileState.UpdateRemoteClusters(currentRemoteClusters)
+	} else {
+		// ensure that map is nil in the status if empty
+		reconcileState.UpdateRemoteClusters(nil)
+	}
 	return nil
 }