KREMLIN POOL PHOTO VIA AP
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates >> Russian President Vladimir Putin will stop in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday as Dubai hosts United Nations COP28 climate talks, despite a court arrest warrant International Criminal for the war in Ukraine. .
Neither Saudi Arabia nor the United Arab Emirates have signed the ICC’s founding treaty, meaning they have no legal responsibility to arrest Putin because of the warrant accusing him of being personally guilty of child abductions in Ukraine and his war against the country.
However, the visit comes as armed U.N. police patrol a portion of Dubai’s Expo City now considered international territory for the talks, again highlighting the Emirates’ expansive business ties to Russia that have exploded in the time since grinding Western sanctions have targeted Moscow.
An article about Putin published through the official Tass news agency, published on Wednesday morning, did not recommend that Putin could simply come to the COP28 site, but quoted Russian President Yuri Ushakov’s aide as saying he would land and have a “meeting. “in the palace” and one-on-one conversations with Emirati leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The stopover comes after COP28 witnessed a parade of Western leaders, adding U. S. Vice President Kamala Harris, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and others who support Ukraine, to stand up to the summit. The same applies to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a longtime best friend of Putin.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which oversees COP summits, did not respond to a request for comment on Putin’s visit.
The UAE’s COP28 creation committee referred questions to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which did not respond promptly. The United Arab Emirates has celebrated the now-ousted Sudanese leader, Omar al-Bashir, despite an ICC arrest warrant against his arrest on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Putin last visited the United Arab Emirates in 2019, where he was welcomed by Sheikh Mohammed, then crown prince of Abu Dhabi. But since then, the global has replaced many things.
The Russian president has been isolating himself from the coronavirus pandemic. He introduced a targeted invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a bitter war that continues today and was the subject of COP28 negotiations for Ukrainian diplomats.
Meanwhile, the war between Israel and Hamas remains a primary fear for the Middle East, especially the United Arab Emirates, which gained diplomatic popularity with Israel in 2020. Recent attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen also threaten the sending of advertising in the red zone. Mar, as Iran’s nuclear program continues its advance since the collapse of the 2016 nuclear deal.
Putin is scheduled to meet Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday for what Ushakov described as “a long conversation. “The two countries are discussing tactics to circumvent Western sanctions that oppose them.
Putin will travel to Saudi Arabia and meet tough Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on a one-day trip, Ushakov said. Most likely, these talks will focus on Moscow’s other main fear in the Middle East: oil.
Russia is part of OPEC+, which is a group of cartel members and other nations that have managed production to try and boost crude oil prices. Last week, the group expanded some output cuts into next year and brought up-and-coming oil supplier Brazil into the fold. Benchmark Brent crude traded Wednesday around $77 a barrel, down from nearly $100 in September, over concerns about a weakening economy worldwide.
Have comments? Learn more here.
Click here to see all of our information on the coronavirus outbreak. Submit your coronavirus news.
Scroll Up