Putin received with soldiers and cannon shots in Abu Dhabi
As pictures from the Kremlin showed, dozens of soldiers awaited Putin at the palace, while planes sprayed smoke in the sky in the colors of the Russian flag and cannon shots were fired nearby.
"Thanks to your attitude, our relations have reached an unprecedented level today," Putin told President Mohammed bin Sajed al-Nahjan on his arrival, praising the brisk trade between the states. Putin said he would talk to his colleague about the situation "in the hot zones", citing both the Middle East conflict and the "crisis in Ukraine".
Putin then planned to travel on to Saudi Arabia, where he was to be received by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. According to the Kremlin, the talks in Riyadh were to focus on trade, investment and international politics.
According to Moscow, Putin's trip to the two Arab countries also included the oil production cuts agreed by the Opec+ oil cartel on the agenda. The program did not specify whether Putin would also visit the UN Climate Change Conference, which is currently taking place in Dubai in the Emirates.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued an arrest warrant against Putin in March for the abduction of Ukrainian children to Russia. As a result, Putin did not attend the major international meetings and stayed away from both the G20 summit in India in September and the summit of the Brics group of states in South Africa in August.
In the Emirates and Saudi Arabia, Putin does not have to expect to be arrested despite the arrest warrant against him. Neither country is a party to the ICC.
Putin recently traveled to countries that are extremely friendly to the Russian head of state: In October, he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the New Silk Road Forum. A few days before that, Putin had traveled abroad for the first time since the arrest warrant and visited nearby Kyrgyzstan.
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Source: www.stern.de
