Vladimir Putin will pay a short visit to the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday. He was received in Abu Dhabi by the President of the Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed. Putin, who will later travel to Saudi Arabia, praised the bilateral relationship between the countries as historically unprecedented.
Russian television showed Putin being met on the catwalk by Emirati representatives before being escorted to the presidential palace by cavalry. The Russian head of state, who is wanted internationally as a suspected war criminal, was received there with full honors.
As photos from the Kremlin showed, dozens of soldiers waited for Putin at the palace, while planes sprayed smoke in the sky in the colors of the Russian flag and cannon shots were fired nearby.
“Thanks to your attitude, today our relations have reached an unprecedented level,” Putin said upon his arrival at President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, praising brisk trade between the states. Putin said he would talk to his counterpart about the situation “in the hot zones,” referring to both the conflict in the Middle East and the “crisis in Ukraine.”
According to Putin, the United Arab Emirates is Russia’s most important trading partner in the Arab region. The Kremlin chief also invited Zayed to attend the 2024 BRICS summit in Kazan.
Meetings with the Saudi Crown Prince are also on the agenda
After his visit to Abu Dhabi, Putin wanted to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia. According to the Kremlin, the talks in Riyadh should focus on trade, investments and international politics.
Putin last visited Saudi Arabia and the Emirates in 2019, before the coronavirus epidemic. The war of aggression against Ukraine has limited the Kremlin chief’s foreign contacts. The visit to the Gulf is the first since the start of the war in 2022 that does not target direct allies such as China, Belarus or Kazakhstan.
Despite the international arrest warrant against him, Putin cannot expect to be arrested in the Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Neither country is a party to the International Criminal Court.
Source: Krone
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