MOSCOW: Russian Pre­si­dent Vladimir Putin and United Arab Emirates Pre­s­i­dent Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed the situation in Ukraine in detail during talks on Oct 20, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on Monday.

Putin met Sheikh Mohammed for informal talks that went on until midnight at his residence outside Moscow. “We continue to make efforts to mediate the exchange of prisoners,” Sheikh Mohammed told Putin in the Kremlin, through a translator.

“And I assure you that we will continue to work in this direction. We are ready to make any efforts to resolve crises and in the interests of peace, in the interests of both sides.” Putin has previously praised both Sheikh Mohammed and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their mediation efforts over Ukraine.

“The Ukrainian crisis was discussed quite thoroughly during an informal dinner between President Putin and the President of the UAE in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence yesterday,” Ushakov said. He added that the situation in the Middle East was discussed during formal talks on Monday in an expanded format, where the foreign ministers of both countries took part.

Putin told the visiting president of the United Arab Emirates that relations between the two states amounted to a “strategic partnership” and thanked him for mediation efforts in exchanging prisoners of war with Ukraine. He thanked the president for “personal relations” which enabled both countries to solve problems. Putin cited in particular the UAE’s help in arranging prisoner exchanges in the more than 2-1/2-year-old war with Ukraine.

The latest exchange took place on Friday, with each side bringing home 95 prisoners of war.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2024