AGL 38.54 Increased By ▲ 0.97 (2.58%)
AIRLINK 129.50 Decreased By ▼ -3.00 (-2.26%)
BOP 5.61 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.53%)
CNERGY 3.86 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (2.39%)
DCL 8.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-1.58%)
DFML 41.76 Increased By ▲ 0.76 (1.85%)
DGKC 88.30 Decreased By ▼ -1.86 (-2.06%)
FCCL 35.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.23%)
FFBL 67.35 Increased By ▲ 0.85 (1.28%)
FFL 10.61 Increased By ▲ 0.46 (4.53%)
HUBC 108.76 Increased By ▲ 2.36 (2.22%)
HUMNL 14.66 Increased By ▲ 1.26 (9.4%)
KEL 4.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-2.26%)
KOSM 6.95 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1.46%)
MLCF 41.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-0.36%)
NBP 59.60 Increased By ▲ 1.02 (1.74%)
OGDC 183.00 Increased By ▲ 1.75 (0.97%)
PAEL 26.25 Increased By ▲ 0.55 (2.14%)
PIBTL 5.97 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (2.4%)
PPL 146.70 Decreased By ▼ -1.70 (-1.15%)
PRL 23.61 Increased By ▲ 0.39 (1.68%)
PTC 16.56 Increased By ▲ 1.32 (8.66%)
SEARL 68.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.49 (-0.71%)
TELE 7.23 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.14%)
TOMCL 35.95 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.14%)
TPLP 7.85 Increased By ▲ 0.45 (6.08%)
TREET 14.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.28%)
TRG 50.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.40 (-0.79%)
UNITY 26.75 Increased By ▲ 0.35 (1.33%)
WTL 1.21 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 9,806 Increased By 37.8 (0.39%)
BR30 29,678 Increased By 278.1 (0.95%)
KSE100 92,304 Increased By 366.3 (0.4%)
KSE30 28,840 Increased By 96.6 (0.34%)

ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates and the United States are facing a “stress test” in their relationship, a senior Emirati diplomat said Thursday, as Russia’s war in Ukraine strains ties.

Yousef al-Otaiba, the Emirati ambassador to the US, was speaking days after the UAE abstained in a UN Security Council vote on a resolution demanding a Russian withdrawal from Ukraine.

“Our relationship with the US is like any relationship,” he told the International Defence Industry, Technology and Security Conference in Abu Dhabi.

“It has strong days where the relationship is very healthy, and days where the relationship is under question.

“Today, we’re going through a stress test, but I’m confident that we will get out of it and we will get to a better place,” Otaiba added.

The wealthy Gulf state hosts US troops and has been a strategic partner to Washington for decades, but its economic and political ties with Russia are growing.

The UAE, which currently holds the UN Security Council presidency, on Friday abstained from voting on a US-Albanian draft resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Three days later, the Security Council voted to extend an arms embargo to all of Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels.

After Russia, which is close to Iran, voted in favour of the UAE-supported resolution, diplomats suggested a deal was cut between Moscow and Abu Dhabi.

The Gulf state has also shown no interest in increasing oil production after prices were sent sky-rocketing by the Russian invasion, saying it remains committed to the OPEC+ alliance, which is led by Saudi Arabia and Russia and controls output levels.

The recent developments come after US forces fired Patriot interceptors to help thwart a Huthi missile attack on Abu Dhabi in January. Three oil workers were killed in an earlier attack.

In December, the UAE threatened to scrap its mega-purchase of US F-35 fighter jets, protesting stringent conditions set by Washington over concerns on China.

UAE ties with the US had warmed under former president Donald Trump, after a cooler period during Barack Obama’s tenure.

But President Joe Biden, who was Obama’s vice-president, quickly shifted back to a somewhat tougher stance on human rights and arms deals.

He also reopened negotiations with Iran, long accused by Gulf states of creating regional chaos.

Otaiba said the UAE’s focus has shifted to “partnering” with big economies such as the US in areas such as defence and technology, rather than just “buying”.

“I think it’s fair to say that 10, 20 years ago, the UAE was considered or viewed as a traditional buyer of advanced technology,” he said.

Comments

Comments are closed.