Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plane was escorted by four Russian Sukhoi-35S fighter jets on Wednesday as it flew to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the first stop on a Middle East trip that also includes a visit to Saudi Arabia. .

Vladimir PutinPhoto: Mykhailo Klimentiev / TASS / Profimedia Images

This is one of the rare departures of Vladimir Putin from the country after the arrest warrant issued in March in his name by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children and their transfer from the occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia, they write. EFE, Reuters and Agerpres.

“During the flight and before the landing of the presidential plane in Abu Dhabi (the capital of the UAE), the head of the Russian state was accompanied by four Su-35S fighters of the Russian Air Force,” the Kremlin spokesman said. , Dmytro Peskov, Interfax reports.

In a gesture that has few precedents because the Kremlin does not usually release such details, Peskov said the fighters were equipped with “various types of weapons.”

“For the air escort of the presidential plane, special permits were obtained from the states over whose territory the flight was carried out. We are grateful to the countries for their cooperation,” he explained.

The Russian Ministry of Defense released a video showing Putin’s Ilyushin-96 flying from Russia to the UAE, surrounded by Sukhoi-35S fighter jets.

In Abu Dhabi, at the beginning of the meeting with the President of the UAE, Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Putin expressed his readiness to resolve the conflict in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine, reports EFE.

“Of course, we will consider the situation with you from hot spots, especially the Arab-Israeli conflict. And, of course, I will inform you about the situation surrounding the Ukrainian crisis,” he said.

Putin emphasized that “the United Arab Emirates makes a huge contribution to the stability of the situation in the world, given that it is not a country with a permanent status in the UN Security Council.”

He noted that thanks to Sheikh Zayed’s position, bilateral relations have reached an “unprecedented high level” in the history of bilateral relations.

“Indeed, the UAE is Russia’s main major trading partner in the Arab world,” as well as its biggest investor, Putin said, pointing to a 68% increase in bilateral trade in 2022.

The President of Russia also said that, in addition to ambitious projects in the oil and gas sector, the two countries cooperate within the framework of OPEC+, whose members pump more than 40% of the world’s oil.

“I will be happy to continue our joint work on strengthening bilateral cooperation in various fields. We give special priority to the development of such industries as energy, infrastructure, high technologies, and others,” he emphasized.

Putin also mentioned the nearly one million Russian tourists who visited the UAE last year and the opening of a Russian-language school in that country.

On this occasion, Vladimir Putin invited the President of the UAE to visit the city of Kazan (western Russia, the capital of Tatarstan Republic) next year, where the summit of the BRICS group will be held, where the UAE will come. join on January 1st.

After the UAE, Putin is set to travel to Saudi Arabia for his first personal meeting with Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud (MbS) in October 2019. His last visit to the region took place in July 2022, when he met with the leader Supreme Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran, Reuters recalls.

The Russian president’s visit to Riyadh came after oil prices fell despite a pledge by OPEC+ (the Russia-led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies) to further cut production, and disagreements within the organization led to the postponement of the meeting. – the key to OPEC+.

Putin, 71, has rarely left Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine, his third visit abroad since 2023, when the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest.

On Thursday, Vladimir Putin will receive Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow, Kremlin press secretary Dmytro Peskov said.

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