UAE email leaks reveal Emirati ambitions

Global Leaks, a  hacking group, continues to release parts of the letters obtained from the email of UAE ambassador to Washington, Yousef Al-Otaiba.

The latest letters published showed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman spoke to two former American officials about his desire to end the Saudi war in Yemen.

The conversation was revealed through a leaked email that contained a discussion between Al-Otaiba and a former American official who spoke to Bin Salman.

In the emails, Al-Otaiba clearly talks about his country’s ambition to lead the region, as well as the divisions within the Gulf Cooperation Council.

https://twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/897150783061454849

In an email to Elliott Abrams, a former US official known for espousing neo-conservative and pro-Israeli views, Al-Otaiba did not object when Abrams wrote to him saying “the new hegemon! Emirati imperialism!”, rather Otaiba responded to that saying, “Well if the US won’t do it, someone has to hold things together for a while.”

Otaiba went on “Yes, how dare we! In all honesty there was not much of a choice. We stepped up only after your country chose to step down.”

Abrams complains it was “too bad you aren’t getting the help you deserve” from the US, Qatar and Saudi. Otaiba adds: “Or Oman or Turkey.”

Read: Hackers leak emails from UAE ambassador to US

However, Al-Otaiba was more than clear about his vision of who is the boss in the Emirati-Saudi relationship. He said:  “I think in the long term, we might be a good influence on KSA [Kingdom of Saudi Arabia], at least with certain people there.”

Furthermore, Otaiba confides: “Our relationship with them [KSA] is based on strategic depth, shared interests, and most importantly the hope that we could influence them. Not the other way around.”

https://twitter.com/QatarFakeNews/status/892986633934471169