Oil-rich gulf monarchies are leveraging their wealth to deepen ties with China amid anxiety about the future of their longstanding security partnership with the US. Seven months after President Xi Jinping participated in the first China-Gulf summit in Riyadh, economic exchanges between the world’s second largest economy and nations like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates...
UAE says Russia ties are a ‘calculated risk’ in an increasingly polarized world
Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan shake hands during a meeting at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on Friday.Ilya Pitalev/Sputnik/Reuters Editor’s Note: A version of this story appears in CNN’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, a three-times-a-week look...
Is the Blossoming Relationship Between Russia and the UAE Doomed?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing raft of Western sanctions have prompted an explosion of interest in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) among Russians. Bilateral trade is breaking all previous records, and Russians are buying up real estate and opening businesses there. Yet for all the hope that the UAE could become an alternative...
Flemish Environment Minister to skip COP28 and takes a dig at Dubai
After boycotting COP27 in Egypt due to concerns about the human rights situation there, Flemish Environment Minister Zuhal Demir has already confirmed she will not be attending next year’s climate summit in Dubai, either. On Wednesday, Demir announced she will not be attending the 28th UN climate conference (COP28), which will be hosted by the United Arab...