MBZ dials Putin, discusses developments in Russia

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The UAE President emphasised the importance of maintaining the stability of the Russian Federation and the safety and security of its people…reports Asian Lite News

President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has made a phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which the two leaders discussed strategic relations between the two countries and ways to develop them further.

The UAE President emphasised the importance of maintaining the stability of the Russian Federation and the safety and security of its people.

President Putin expressed his happiness with the level of development in bilateral relations between the UAE and Russia in various areas.

After Wagner’s aborted mutiny, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday warned that any attempt at “blackmail or internal turmoil” in Russia would fail and claimed that the West and Kyiv wanted Russians to “kill each other,” according to Al Jazeera.

The rebellion by armed mercenaries on Saturday lasted less than 24 hours. In a televised address to the nation on Monday, Putin said that since the start of the events, steps were taken on his orders to avoid large-scale bloodshed, as he thanked the Russians for endurance and support.

“It was precisely this fratricide that Russia’s enemies wanted: both the neo-Nazis in Kyiv and their Western patrons and all sorts of national traitors. They wanted Russian soldiers to kill each other,” he said, adding “Any blackmail, attempts to cause internal turmoil are doomed to failure.”

“From the start of the events, on my orders steps were taken to avoid large-scale bloodshed,” Putin said, according to Al Jazeera.

The Russian President also said that he would keep his word and permit Wagner fighters to move to Belarus if they so desired, or continue serving Russia by entering into a contract with the Ministry of Defense or other law enforcement agencies, reported Al Jazeera.

Additionally, he thanked his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko for serving as a meditor between Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner group, and the Moscow.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said the purpose of the march towards Moscow was to stop the destruction of Wagner’s private military company and “bring to justice those who, through their unprofessional actions, made a huge number of mistakes during the special military operation”.

In an audio message released on Monday, he said that the march was a demonstration of protest and not intended to overthrow power.

Explaining his decision to turn around his march on Moscow, Prigozhin said he wanted to avoid Russian bloodshed. “We started our march because of an injustice. We went to demonstrate our protest and not to overthrow power in the country,” Prigozhin said in an audio message, Al Jazeera reported.

He, however, did not share any details regarding where he was or what his future plans are. (with inputs from ANI)

ALSO READ: Putin’s iron grip on power at risk amid Wagner mutiny

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