UAE’s MBZ and Putin Speak as Security Case and Ukraine Talks Converge
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke by phone late Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a call that touched on bilateral cooperation and wider regional issues as Abu Dhabi continues to position itself as a key diplomatic and security interlocutor, according to state-linked readouts released Sunday.
The UAE’s WAM news agency said the two leaders discussed expanding cooperation to support development and shared interests. WAM added that they exchanged views on “regional developments and efforts aimed at supporting security and stability through dialogue and peaceful solutions,” framing the conversation in the language of de-escalation and negotiated outcomes.
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The Kremlin’s version of events carried a sharper edge. In a statement issued Sunday, Putin thanked the UAE leader for cooperation between the countries’ security services and for Emirati assistance connected to the detention of a suspect in an attempted assassination case involving Vladimir Alekseyev, a senior Russian military intelligence official.
Russia’s Federal Security Service said earlier Sunday that two suspects were detained over an attempted assassination of Alekseyev in Moscow on Friday. It said one suspect, believed to be the shooter, was detained in Dubai with help from partners in the UAE and then transferred to Russian authorities.
The call also came just after a second round of US-brokered Russia-Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi, held Wednesday and Thursday. The sides agreed to a large-scale prisoner exchange, but the meeting produced no breakthrough on the war’s core disputes, including territorial questions and a ceasefire. Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the UAE has maintained working ties with both Moscow and Kyiv, using those channels to host dialogue and facilitate humanitarian arrangements.
