United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan confirmed his country's readiness to mediate between Russia and Ukraine during talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, WAM, the Emirati news agency, reported on Wednesday.
During the meeting, the agency noted, Putin stressed that the Russian side appreciates the efforts made by the UAE, which has confirmed its readiness to continue mediation. In this regard, the UAE president informed Putin "about the position of the Ukrainian side on a number of issues," WAM points out.
According to the report, the Russian president "informed the head of the UAE in detail about the situation at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and the measures taken by the Russian side to ensure safety in this context."
In addition, during the talks, the two presidents discussed "various aspects of bilateral cooperation, pointing to their accelerated growth." Putin and Al Nahyan expressed satisfaction with the state and progress of relations between Russia and the UAE.
Earlier on Tuesday, at the beginning of his meeting with the Russian president, Al Nahyan said that the trade turnover between the UAE and Russia has doubled over the past approximately three years and increased from $2.5 billion to $5 billion. According to him, 4,000 Russian companies currently work in the UAE and the number of tourists from Russia visiting the UAE has reached 500,000.
The UAE's third president visited Russia on Tuesday for the first time since he was elected to the post by the Supreme Federal Council on May 14. Yet he has visited Russia 11 times since 1995. In October 2019, as Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Al Nahyan hosted Putin during the Russian leader's state visit to the UAE. The Middle Eastern country did not impose sanctions on Russia after the start of the Russian Armed Forces' military special operation in Ukraine. In a telephone conversation with Putin on March 1, Al Nahyan noted Russia's right to ensure national security.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS