Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the United Arab Emirates on Sunday evening as momentum builds for potential peace talks that would end Moscow’s war against the country. US President Donald Trump last week suggested he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia, reported by ABC News.
The UAE, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, has long been seen as a possible venue for peace talks, given the large number of Russian and Ukrainian expatriates who have flooded the country since the war began, as well as the Emirates’ work on prisoner swaps in the past.
Zelensky Arrives in Abu Dhabi
Zelensky arrived in Abu Dhabi after attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany. Footage released by his office showed him and his wife, Olena Zelenska, being greeted at the airport late Sunday by a UAE official and an honor guard.
Zelenska has been to the UAE since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, but this is Zelensky’s first trip to the UAE since the war began. “Our top priority is to return even more of our people from captivity”, Zelensky’s office said in a statement online. “We will also focus on investment and economic partnerships, as well as a large-scale humanitarian program”.
International defense and arms shows in Abu Dhabi
The United Arab Emirates’ state news agency WAM did not immediately announce Zelensky’s arrival, which was unusual. It was not immediately clear what his agenda would be while he was in the country, although Abu Dhabi is hosting the International Defense and Arms Exhibition this week, a biennial event attended by both Ukraine and Russia, despite Moscow facing Western sanctions over the war.
Zelensky’s visit came during a visit by Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov to His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, the country’s president and ruler of Abu Dhabi. The talks focused on growing ties between the UAE and Russia and ways to advance shared interests. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead a delegation to Saudi Arabia this week for direct talks with Russian officials about the war.