Putin and UAE president hold call on Middle East crisis

The Russian leader and Mohammed bin Zazyed Al Nahyan discussed the recent escalation and called for an end to the hostilities

Russian President Vladimir Putin and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan have held a telephone conversation focusing on the escalating military conflict in the Middle East, the Kremlin has announced. 

The call comes after the US and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran on Saturday, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. Tehran has responded by launching hundreds of missiles and drones at American and Israeli targets across the Gulf region.   

According to a readout of the call published by Moscow on Monday, Putin and Sheikh Mohamed discussed “the unprecedented tragic events in the Middle East in the context of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran and Tehran’s harsh retaliatory actions.” Both sides stressed “the need for an immediate ceasefire and a return to the political-diplomatic process.”  

Putin noted during the call that Russia had made significant efforts to facilitate a peaceful resolution to the situation surrounding Iran’s nuclear program and to find mutually acceptable compromises, in which the UAE had also played an active role.   

However, Putin stated that the progress that had been made was disrupted as a result of an “unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign UN member state, in violation of the fundamental principles of international law,” the Kremlin said.  

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Sheikh Mohamed emphasized that Iran’s retaliatory strikes had directly affected the Emirates, causing damage to the country and posing a threat to civilians. He stressed that such strikes were being carried out despite the fact that UAE territory is not being used as a staging ground for attacks on Iran, and are therefore completely unjustified.  

Putin, for his part, expressed readiness to convey these signals to Tehran and to provide possible assistance to stabilize the overall situation in the region.  

The US-Israeli campaign, dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” by Washington, has entered its third day with President Donald Trump vowing to sustain the assault for weeks if necessary, claiming the operation will continue “until all of our objectives are achieved.”   

Russia has condemned the US-Israeli strikes, describing them as a “premeditated and unprovoked act of aggression” aimed at toppling a government that “refused to yield to the dictates of force and hegemonic pressure.”  

President Putin earlier called Khamenei’s killing a “cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law.