Vladimir Putin has met with the Prime Minister of the Arab Emirates.
Russia is ready to propose to the United Arab Emirates joint projects in the sphere of space exploration, the nuclear industry and of course the power industry, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday during a meeting in Moscow with the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, Mohammed Al Maktoum.
Tall men in Oriental garb appeared in the hall of the former Friendship House on Vozdvizhenka Street. Awaiting the Arab guests were Russian officials (Nabiullina, Shumakov, Chemezov, Kiriyenko and others). This was the same room that a short while earlier saw Mr Putin and Ms Timoshenko struggling to "defuse" the gas conflict. By contrast, there were hardly any problems yesterday and the Prime Minister and his colleagues were in an upbeat mood. Especially since, as the people close to the Prime Minister told this newspaper, the murder of the former commander of the Vostok battalion, Sulim Yamadayev, was not on the agenda. "If the Emirates raise the issue we are ready to exchange opinions," a high-ranking source stressed, noting that as the meeting started no official confirmation had been received about the murder or attempted murder of Mr Yamadayev by the Russian diplomatic services.
"We are glad that the relations between our countries have been developing successfully in recent years. This is true of the intense contacts at the political level and this is true of the development of the trade and economic links, Vladimir Putin said, noting however that trade was "very modest". The Prime Minister mentioned some "interesting" areas of cooperation, including energy, tourism, space, the nuclear industry and investments. Already many joint ventures have been created, but, Mr Putin lamented, most of them are in the services sphere.
"I and my delegation are happy to be in Moscow. We consider it to be a strategic visit in every respect, Mohammed Al Maktoum said firmly. He mentioned the colossal potential for closer relations between the two countries. Apparently the potential could be tapped after Vladimir Putin's return visit to Dubai. The UAE Prime Minister began the meeting by inviting his counterpart to visit his country.
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