Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed meets Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister in Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, on Saturday held talks in Abu Dhabi with Denis Manturov, Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister.

Sheikh Mansour and Mr Manturov reviewed efforts to expand bilateral ties between the nations in various fields during the discussions at Qasr Al Watan.

The meeting was attended by Khaled Balama, governor of the UAE Central Bank, Dr Mohammed Al Jaber, UAE ambassador to Russia, Mr Manturov's delegation and a number of officials, state news agency Wam reported.

The talks were in support of a robust partnership between the two countries, which has grown significantly in recent years.

In October, President Sheikh Mohamed paid an official visit to Moscow to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

The UAE leader attended the Brics summit in the Russian city of Kazan as part of the visit, which came after the country in 2023 became a member of the expanding economic and political alliance, which also includes Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

The UAE has also overseen a series of prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine during the continuing war.

Russia and Ukraine this month exchanged 300 prisoners in a UAE-mediated swap.

The mediation resulted in the release of 150 Russians and 150 Ukrainians, Wam reported. It brought the total number of prisoners exchanged between the two countries to 2,883.