Ukraine's President Zelensky travels to United Arab Emirates as momentum grows for war peace talks
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Zelensky has traveled to the UAE since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, but this trip is Zelensky's first to the UAE since the war began.
'Our top priority is bringing even more of our people home from captivity,' Zelensky's office said in messages online. 'We will also focus on investments and economic partnership, as well as a large-scale humanitarian program.'
The United Arab Emirates' state-run WAM news agency did not immediately report on Zelensky's arrival, which was unusual.
It wasn't immediately clear what his agenda would be while he was in the country, though Abu Dhabi is hosting its biennial International Defense Exhibition and Conference arms show this week, where both Ukraine and Russia have displayed arms — even as Moscow faces Western sanctions over the war.
Russian money continues to flood into Dubai's red-hot real estate market. Daily flights between the Emirates and Moscow provide a lifeline for both those fleeing conscription and the Russian elite. The US Treasury under former President Biden also expressed concerns about the amount of Russian cash flowing into the Arabian Peninsula country.
Zelensky's visit comes as Denis Manturov, Russia's first deputy prime minister, visited earlier Sunday with UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the country's president and ruler of Abu Dhabi. A readout from WAM described the talks as focusing on 'growing UAE-Russia ties and ways to advance shared interests, benefiting both nations and their peoples.'
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