Ukraine, UAE agree to cooperate on defence, Zelenskiy says


Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, meets with Volodymyr Zelenskiy, President of Ukraine, in the United Arab Emirates in this undated handout picture released March 28, 2026. Abdulla Al Neyadi/UAE Presidential Court/Handout via REUTERS

KYIV, March 28 (Reuters) - ⁠Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on ⁠Saturday he had met with United ‌Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and that they had agreed to cooperate in ​the field of security ⁠and defence.

"Our teams will ⁠finalise the details," Zelenskiy said on the ⁠Telegram ‌app.

The two leaders tackled opportunities to advance bilateral cooperation under the ⁠Comprehensive Economic Agreement between the two ​sides, the ‌Emirati state news agency WAM said, without ⁠further ​elaborating.

They also discussed the security developments and military escalation in the region and their ⁠impact on international navigation and ​the global economy, WAM added.

Zelenskiy arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday where the Saudi defence ⁠ministry signed an agreement on defence cooperation with Ukraine's defence ministry.

The Ukrainian leader also arrived in Qatar on Saturday.

Ukraine's foreign ​minister said on Friday ⁠Kyiv was close to clinching several security agreements, ​including with the UAE ‌and Qatar, to counter ​Iranian attacks.

(Reporting by Olena Harmash and Jaidaa Taha; Editing by Jan Harvey)

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