UAE: Bin Zayed confirms support for Putin against Wagner rebellion

The President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin yesterday and affirmed his support for the Russian leadership’s measures against the Wagner Group’s attempted rebellion.

According to the Kremlin, the phone call was an initiative by the UAE. Bin Zayed was interested in “hearing assessments of the situation in Russia in connection with the attempted rebellion on 24 June.”

The two leaders also discussed cooperation between their countries following their meeting on 16 June at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Putin congratulated the UAE president and his country’s citizens on the upcoming Eid al-Adha.

The Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported that during the call Bin Zayed “emphasised the importance of maintaining the stability of the Russian Federation and the safety and security of its people.”

The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, made a similar phone call to Putin earlier on Monday and expressed his “support for the actions of the Russian authorities related to the events of 24 June,” added the Kremlin.

The founder of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, announced at dawn on Saturday that his forces entered the city of Rostov, before heading to Voronezh and then Lipetsk, in what the Russian Federal Security Service considered an “armed rebellion”. He announced on Saturday evening that he would withdraw his fighters to their camps “to avoid Russian bloodshed,” after mediation by the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko.

The deal between Wagner and Moscow included granting the rebels immunity from prosecution in exchange for their return to their camps. It is not clear if the Russian president also agreed to change the high military command or make any other concessions.

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