Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday for an important visit. He is meeting with the President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Russian state media TASS said that “Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said that the initial meeting will include the presidents’ respective delegations, and will be followed by talks between the two leaders in a one-on-one format.”
The reports from Moscow also said that Putin will then travel to Saudi Arabia and will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. Putin visited both the UAE and Saudi Arabia in 2019. Gulf countries have taken a more modest approach to the Ukraine war than the West. While the West has been deeply supportive of Ukraine after the Russian invasion of 2022, many Gulf countries have sought to keep warm relations with Russia. Russia has also acquired Iranian drones.
Russia has close ties with Turkey and also backs the Syrian regime in Damascus. Russia has not condemned the Hamas attack on October 7 on Israel. Hamas released several hostages who hold dual Russia-Israeli citizenship as a gesture to Moscow. READ MORE