UAE president meets Putin in Russia, hails bilateral ties

Europe, Middle East, News June 17, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan traveled to Russia on June 16, 2023, to participate in an economic forum. He also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in his hometown of St. Petersburg on the sidelines of the forum.

“I am pleased to be here today with you, your excellency, and we wish to build on this relationship, and we put our trust in you to do so,” Al Nahyan told the Russian President during his bilateral meeting.

In his televised comments, Putin stated that “The Emirates is a very good partner.” The Russian president thanked Al Nahyan for the role that the UAE has played in a prisoner exchange deal between Russia and Ukraine, as well as between Russia and the United States.

“I would like to thank you for your efforts to resolve humanitarian problems related to the events in Ukraine,” Putin told him during the meeting.

In June 2022, UAE along with Saudi Arabia facilitated a humanitarian prisoner swap deal between Russia and Ukraine that resulted in an exchange of more than 200 captured personnel from both sides.

Putin also highlighted the dramatic increase of Russian tourists in UAE. As an after-effect of the severe travel restrictions on Russian nationals in Europe and North America, an overwhelming number of Russian tourists headed to UAE and other Arab nations in the last few months. The number of Russian tourists in UAE reached almost one million in 2022.

*^{UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 16, 2023. (Image Credit: Twitter/@MohamedBinZayed)}*

Russian businessmen and especially the oligarchs of the Russian oil industry are also counting on the Gulf nation to keep their accounts unfrozen and their assets saved as the Western world becomes more and more difficult for their businesses.

Contrary to many Western countries which have openly condemned Moscow’s actions in Ukraine and imposed economic sanctions on Russia, the UAE is among the few countries that have kept a neutral stance on the ongoing war. Abu Dhabi claims that it wants to prevent violence and encourages a political solution to the war in Ukraine.

In his carefully crafted words, Al Nahyan said that UAE wants to help facilitate peace and is in favor of “de-escalation” and a “political solution.” He tweeted after the meeting, “The UAE continues to support all efforts aimed at reaching a political solution through dialogue and diplomacy, towards global peace and stability.”

For a long time, the UAE has been a close U.S. ally, however, the changing balance of power in the Middle East has highlighted the role of Moscow and Beijing in the region, bringing UAE and several other Arab countries closer to Russia and China. UAE and Russia also cooperate as members of the OPEC+ oil alliance.