During his first visit to the Middle East since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the United Arab Emirates as Russia's top trading partner in the Arab world, emphasizing the strong relationship between the two countries. Putin made the remarks during his meeting with President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, highlighting the all-time high of relations between the two nations.
He is set to visit Riyadh later to meet with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) as part of a brief tour during which Moscow aims to showcase and further cultivate its strong relationships with Gulf states amidst ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Europe.
The trip was a rare foreign excursion for Putin, as the International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued a warrant for his arrest over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. However, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have not ratified the ICC's Rome Statute and are not required to arrest the Russian president.
Putin's international travel has been significantly restricted by the ICC's arrest warrant. As a result, he did not attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg in August, as South Africa, a signatory to the Rome Statute, hosted the event. Despite Western pressure, Gulf states have maintained neutral positions regarding the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, allowing Putin to maintain good relations with them.
Putin was accompanied by a cavalry escort to the main entrance of the Qasr al-Watan Palace, where his UAE counterpart received him, according to Russian state media TASS. The palace played the anthems of both countries before the presidents walked along a guard of honor.
Putin shakes hands with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed at the airport in Abu Dhabi, December 6, 2023.
Andrei Gordeyev/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Highlighting the longstanding historical connection between Russia and the UAE, Putin mentioned that the Soviet Union was among the early nations to acknowledge the UAE's sovereignty in 1971.
Prior to the meeting, Putin stated that the two leaders would address a wide array of topics, including oil, trade, Russia's intervention in Ukraine, and the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Following the Abu Dhabi delegation, Putin will journey to Riyadh, the primary partner of Moscow in OPEC+, an organization that includes the world's leading oil producers and of which Russia became a member in 2016.
Additionally, the two Gulf states have aided Russia in organizing recent prisoner exchanges.
Saudi Arabia's MBS was instrumental in facilitating a deal last September that led to the release of nearly 300 individuals, including 10 foreigners and commanders who played a crucial role in the defense of Mariupol, Ukraine.
Additionally, both Saudi Arabia and the UAE were actively engaged in the agreement that resulted in the exchange of US basketball star Brittney Griner for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout at Abu Dhabi airport, approximately a year ago.
CNN reported on Tuesday, the day before Putin's trip to the Middle East, that Washington had presented Moscow with another proposal for a prisoner swap in an attempt to secure the release of two US citizens: former Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded to the report, telling Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, "We do not discuss this topic publicly."
The Biden administration's ongoing efforts to secure the release of Whelan and Gershkovich, who have been formally acknowledged as wrongfully detained by the State Department, have thus far been unsuccessful. Gershkovich has been imprisoned for 250 days, while Whelan is entering his fifth year in Russian detention this month.
