The President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, stated today, during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, that his country "seeks to develop relations with Russia." Putin expressed gratitude to the UAE for its assistance in humanitarian issues, including the exchange of detainees during the events in Ukraine.
Sheikh Mohammed said: "There are partnership bridges we are building and expanding with Russia to enhance our partnership," adding: "We hope for this relationship to develop; we trust you to do that." After the meeting, the Emirati president tweeted: "We discussed paths of cooperation between the UAE and Russia, international and regional issues of mutual interest, and the importance of political solutions to the Ukrainian crisis. The UAE's approach is to build bridges of cooperation and dialogue with everyone to serve peace and prosperity in the world."
In turn, Putin thanked the Emirati president for his efforts in the release of prisoners of war in Ukraine and praised the "expansion of economic relations between Moscow and Abu Dhabi." He addressed his Emirati counterpart, saying: "I know that the economic and social sectors of the UAE are actively developing under your leadership; from this standpoint, the UAE is a very good and comfortable partner."
In the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, he pointed out that "the country's public finances are generally balanced, and defense spending needs to increase to enhance Russia's security." He added that the budget deficit of $42 billion this year so far is largely due to the need to provide expenditures that were planned for the future.
Putin used statistics during the forum to support his view that the economic outlook for Russia is positive, predicting GDP growth of up to two percent this year, highlighting a record decline in the unemployment rate and a decrease in inflation compared to the surge that exceeded ten percent last year.
The Russian president confirmed that the Russian army could destroy parts of central Kyiv but chose not to do so for several reasons. He added that attacks on border areas of Russia aim to distract Russian forces from other fronts. Putin noted that Russia could "theoretically" use nuclear weapons if there were threats to its territorial integrity or existence, adding that there is no need for such action. He stated, "Nuclear weapons were made to ensure our security in the broadest sense of the word and the existence of the Russian state, but... there is no need to use them."
