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UAE President, Russia’s Putin discuss Ukraine conflict, need for mediation
United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held talks with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin during a visit to Saint Petersburg to discuss the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the need to keep Russia-Ukraine dialogue open, the al-Arabiya reported.
State news agency WAM reported Wednesday (Oct 12), Putin provided a detailed brief to Sheikh Mohamed on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine and on Russia's efforts to maintain nuclear security.
Sheikh Mohamed said that UAE is continuing to monitor the situation at the plant.
Putin expressed Russia's appreciation for the UAE's efforts in playing a key role in the prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine, saying they are a testament to its readiness to support mediation efforts.
Sheikh Mohamed briefed the Russian President on the Ukrainian side's position on a number of issues.
The UAE President also emphasized the need to keep the dialogue between Russia and Ukraine open, while President Putin stressed that Russia is keen on the continuation of the UAE's mediation efforts.
WAM reported that the two leaders also “underscored the ongoing rapid growth seen across the UAE-Russia relations and their satisfaction with such growth.”
Sheikh Mohamed’s Russia visit was announced Monday (Oct 10).
The UAE’s foreign ministry said at the time the visit aimed to help reach “effective political solutions” to the Ukrainian crisis, WAM reported.
NATO warns Moscow against any infrastructure attacks
The UAE leader’s visit comes as Putin’s almost eight-month invasion escalates in the wake of a string of Ukrainian advances and an explosion on a key bridge link to Crimea that Moscow blamed on Ukraine’s secret services.
Russian missiles on Monday (Oct 10) struck the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other cities across the country, with Putin threatening further strikes.
It was reported that Kh-101, Kh-555, Caliber, Iskander, S-300, and Tornado-S missiles were among the ones that were used on Monday's attacks by Russia, which cost it $400-700 million, according to Forbes.
Lukashenko accuses Ukraine of preparing an attack on Belarus
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, currently the deputy chairman of the country's Security Council, called on Monday Russia's mass strike at Ukraine's infrastructure "the first episode."
The Ukrainian political regime has to be dismantled, according to Medvedev.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, more than 7.6 million Ukrainian refugees have been recorded across Europe.
levantnews-alarabiya
