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Putin Makes Rare Visit to Mideast Putin Makes Rare Visit to Mideast
(about 4 hours later)
His plane flanked by four fighter jets, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia began a rare trip on Wednesday to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, two oil-rich Gulf nations that have resisted pressure to take sides in the Ukraine war.His plane flanked by four fighter jets, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia began a rare trip on Wednesday to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, two oil-rich Gulf nations that have resisted pressure to take sides in the Ukraine war.
The talks touched on international crises, primarily Israel’s two-month-old war with Hamas — a conflict that has played into Mr. Putin’s geopolitical aims by distracting Western leaders from the war in Ukraine.The talks touched on international crises, primarily Israel’s two-month-old war with Hamas — a conflict that has played into Mr. Putin’s geopolitical aims by distracting Western leaders from the war in Ukraine.
The Emirati president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, called Mr. Putin his “dear friend” at the start of their talks, and after Mr. Putin arrived in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, called him a “very dear guest for the kingdom.”The Emirati president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, called Mr. Putin his “dear friend” at the start of their talks, and after Mr. Putin arrived in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, called him a “very dear guest for the kingdom.”
“We have great opportunities in front of us in the future,” Prince Mohammed told the Russian leader in a video released by the Saudi government.“We have great opportunities in front of us in the future,” Prince Mohammed told the Russian leader in a video released by the Saudi government.
Mr. Putin told the crown prince that he had taken advantage of his invitation “to come and talk with you and with all our friends,” and insisted that their next meeting “should be in Moscow.”
Upon his arrival in the Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi, his first stop on the trip, Mr. Putin was greeted with pomp: His limousine drove through the grounds of a sprawling palace flanked by camels and Arabian horses whose riders held Russian flags. Jets trailed the Russian tricolor in the sky, and Mr. Putin was also welcomed with a 21-gun salute, the Emirati state news agency reported.