While COP 28 is currently taking place in Dubai, Vladimir Putin spoke face-to-face with the Emirati leader, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, hoping to win support from two major U.S.-allied oil producers in the Middle East as his war with Ukraine continues.
Vladimir Putin has landed in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The United Arab Emirates is currently hosting COP 28, the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
This is the Russian president’s first trip to the region since before the coronavirus pandemic and the outbreak of war with Ukraine, and while he is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) which accuses him of deporting Ukrainian children to Russia.
Neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE have signed the ICC’s founding treaty, meaning they have no obligation to arrest Vladimir Putin.
The Russian president is “presumed”by the International Criminal Court, “responsible” war crimes in Ukraine for the deportation of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. .
The meeting between Vladimir Putin and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is expected to focus on the Emirates’ extensive trade ties with Russia, which have exploded at a time when tough Western sanctions are targeting Moscow.
Ukrainians at COP 28 expressed outrage over Vladimir Putin’s presence in the United Arab Emirates, even as they accuse him of committing environmental crimes in Ukraine.
“It is extremely shocking how the world treats war criminals, because that is what it is, in my opinion”confides Marharyta Bohdanova, a Ukrainian participant at COP28, wiping away tears. “Seeing how people let people like him participate in big events(…) Treating him like a special guest is so hypocritical in my opinion.”
An article about Vladimir Putin’s trip, published early Wednesday by the Russian government news agency Tass, did not suggest that Vladimir Putin might visit the COP28 site.
The visit comes after seeing a parade of Western leaders, including US Vice President Kamala Harris, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and other figures supporting Ukraine, speak during COP28.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a long-time ally of Vladimir Putin, also spoke.
The spokesperson for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), Alexander Saier, told a press conference that he was not “not aware of Vladimir Putin coming to the conference, but I should also check with the foreign ministry.”
He declined to immediately answer a question about whether UN police would be forced to make an arrest.
The Emirati COP28 organizing committee referred questions to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which did not immediately respond.
Vladimir Putin’s last visit to the United Arab Emirates dates back to 2019. He received a warm welcome from Sheikh Mohammed, then crown prince of Abu Dhabi. Since then, however, the world has changed.
The Russian president launched the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, sparking a deadly war that continues to this day. The conflict is also a hot topic for Ukrainian diplomats attending the climate negotiations.
“I’m talking about his crimes and this person is literally here, somewhere near me”says Alina Abramenko, another member of the Ukrainian pavilion which highlights the environmental damage caused by the war. “It’s really strange”.
Meanwhile, the war between Israel and Hamas remains a major concern for the Middle East, particularly for the United Arab Emirates, which diplomatically recognized Israel in 2020.
Recent attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels also threaten commercial shipping in the Red Sea, while Iran’s nuclear program continues its rapid progression since the collapse of the 2016 nuclear deal.
Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday, December 7, for what Vladimir Putin’s advisor Yuri Ushakov described as “quite a long conversation.”
The two countries discussed ways to circumvent Western sanctions targeting them.
Vladimir Putin also traveled to Saudi Arabia to meet powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during this one-day trip. These discussions focused on Moscow’s other major concern: oil.
Russia is part of OPEC+, a cartel made up of oil-producing countries which aims to regulate the production and price of oil through a concerted policy of its members.
Last week, the group extended some production cuts to next year and opened its doors in Brazil.