Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi in talks with Putin
April 20, 2017 Updated:
April 20, 2017 08:48 PM
ABU DHABI // Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown
Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, held
bilateral talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday to
discuss efforts to bring about an end to conflicts in the region as well as
increasing security cooperation and economic ties.
The UAE is Russia’s closest partner in the
GCC, and Moscow has sought to deepen its relationship with Abu Dhabi as part of
its push to become a powerful player in the Middle East and North Africa.
During his meeting with Mr Putin, Sheikh
Mohammed pointed out that the relations between the UAE and Russia are old and
developing at all levels, and both countries were eager to strengthen and drive
forward those developments, in the interests of both their nations.
At this year’s International Defence
Exhibition and Conference (Idex) in February, Moscow and Abu Dhabi announced
they would jointly produce a fifth-generation fighter jet in the UAE. On
Thursday, Russian trade minister Denis Manturov said the two countries were
also in talks for Moscow to supply "several dozen" Su-35 fighter jets
to the UAE military, which until now has used only US, British and French jets.
On the subject of Russia and the rivalry
between its close ally Iran and Saudi Arabia, observers believe the UAE is in a
good position to help find solutions to the destabilising wars in Syria and
Yemen.
"Russia’s interest in the Middle East is
seen by the Emirates as a positive development that could be used to balance
countries off of each other and try to find a settlement," said Theodore
Karasik, a senior adviser at the Gulf States Analytics think tank in
Washington. "The Emiratis, with their unique relationship with the
Kremlin, are trying to settle these issues."
The Crown Prince’s meeting also comes as the
new US administration is ratcheting up its anti-Iran rhetoric, while US -Russia
relations have hit — in Washington’s estimation — "an all-time low."
As a friend to both nations (the US is Abu
Dhabi’s chief international partner) the UAE is trying to help to defuse those
tensions.
* With additional reporting by Associated
Press, Reuters and WAM
Original post: thenational.ae
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