ISTANBUL

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday thanked the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for its “active mediation” during prisoner swaps conducted between his country and neighboring Ukraine.

“The Russian side expressed gratitude for the active mediation assistance provided by the UAE in the implementation of the exchange of detainees between Russia and Ukraine,” the Kremlin said in a statement following a phone conversation between Putin and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Indicating that the two presidents discussed the current development of Russia-US talks regarding Ukraine and the restoration of diplomatic ties, the statement said bin Zayed expressed his support for Moscow and Washington’s efforts in this regard.

The statement added that the UAE president welcomed today’s consultations taking place between Russia and the US in Saudi Arabia.

Earlier on Monday, delegations from Russia and the US began a new round of bilateral talks in the Saudi capital Riyadh, aimed at making progress in finding a settlement to the conflict in Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

The two presidents “gave a positive assessment of the achieved level of Russian-UAE strategic partnership relations and spoke in favor of further implementation of mutually beneficial projects in the trade, economic and humanitarian spheres,” the statement added.

It added that both countries will maintain their “close coordination” in the OPEC+ format.

The UAE has played a mediating role in previous prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine.