The president of the United Arab Emirates will meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow as the Russian leader steps up his attacks on Ukraine with a series of missile strikes.
The visit by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, known as MBZ, follows last week’s decision by the OPEC cartel and allied producers, including Russia, to cut the group’s daily output target by 2 million of barrels The move, designed to boost global oil prices, will help Moscow financially, further undermining strained relations between Washington and its traditional Gulf allies.
The White House declared that OPEC had “aligned with Russia” even as Moscow stepped up its offensive against Ukraine. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen slammed the decision as “unhelpful and imprudent” for the global economy.
Putin and Sheikh Mohammed, who is also the ruler of Abu Dhabi, will discuss regional and international issues of common interest, the UAE’s state-run WAM agency said.
More than 80 Russian missiles were fired at targets across Ukraine on Monday, hitting a playground, a bridge and other civilian infrastructure in central Kyiv and more than a dozen cities, killing at least 10 people and more of 60 injuries, according to the Ukrainian authorities. Putin described the attacks as retaliation for damage done on Saturday to the Kerch bridge linking Russia and the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, which the Russian president unilaterally annexed in 2014.
Three people briefed on the UAE’s position said Sheikh Mohammed’s visit to Moscow was in line with his intention to engage with all sides in the Ukrainian conflict and was done in a spirit of mediation. The Gulf state privately opposed the cut during the OPEC meeting, only to be overruled by other members, they insisted.
The United Arab Emirates, a close US ally, has tried to show a neutral stance on the war in Ukraine. In the early days of Russia’s February invasion, he angered his Western allies by abstaining from UN votes critical of Moscow. But last month he supported a UN Security Council resolution condemning referendums on annexation of Russia in four Ukrainian regions organized by Kremlin proxies as “illegal”.
Sheikh Mohammed is one of the world figures able to maintain a line of communication with Putin, according to analysts. “MBZ can talk to Putin rationally and stop the drift towards a nuclear confrontation,” said Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, an Emirati commentator.
In recent years, the UAE has played a mediating role in disputes in the Middle East and normalized diplomatic and trade relations with Israel.
Putin may also meet with Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The Turkish president has served as a mediator between Kyiv and Moscow to seal an agreement to resume grain transportation in the Black Sea. Both Putin and Erdogan are expected to visit Kazakhstan for a summit on Russia and Central Asia on Friday.
In Washington, frustration with Saudi Arabia continued to rise. Bob Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Monday called for the suspension of US cooperation with Saudi Arabia until it changes its position on Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“The United States must immediately freeze all aspects of our cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including arms sales and security cooperation beyond what is absolutely necessary to defend U.S. personnel and interests “, he said.
He said he would not approve any such request “until the Kingdom reassesses its position regarding the war in Ukraine.”
The strong statement is a sign of the battle Saudi Arabia faces to repair its reputation in Washington, although it could leave room open for some systems the US considers necessary for its security.