Moscow, Jun 16 (EFE).- Russian president Vladimir Putin thanked his United Arab Emirates counterpart Mohamed bin Zayed for his country’s mediation efforts in prisoner swaps with Ukraine.
“I would like to thank you for your efforts to address humanitarian issues during the events in Ukraine, the events related to the exchange of detainees and the resolution of a number of other humanitarian issues of this kind,” Putin said at the meeting on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday.
“The Emirates’ economy and social infrastructure are developing quite actively under your leadership and, in this respect, of course, the Emirates is a very good and amenable partner for us,” Putin continued, according to Russia’s state-run news agency Tass.
“The relations between Russia and the Emirates are developing quite successfully,” the Russian president added.
Putin highlighted the drastic increase in Russian tourists in the UAE, which he said reached almost a million last year.
Thanking Putin, Bin Zayed said that his country was willing to mediate and assist with efforts to resolve the war in neighboring Ukraine.
“You can be certain that if the UAE can play any role in stabilizing the situation, in humanitarian issues, we are ready to assist in any way possible,” the UAE president was quoted as saying by Tass.
According to Russian press reports, in June last year, Abu Dhabi pitched a proposal to Putin to mediate with Ukraine on prisoner swaps.
The last exchange the UAE was involved in, according to both Russian and Ukrainian official sources, took place in February 2023.EFE
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