ABU DHABI — Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan held telephone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, the UAE's state news agency WAM reported. During the call, both leaders discussed the latest developments in the Middle East, especially the Libyan crisis and the importance of dialogue, unifying efforts, and returning to the political dialogue in a way that achieves development, stability, and peace for the Libyan people. During the conversation, they reviewed a host of issues of mutual interest, most important of which were related to the latest developments with the fight against COVID-19 pandemic and the global efforts to limit its repercussions. Meanwhile, the office of the Russian president also issued a statement on the talks between Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed and Vladimir Putin. According to the statement, both sides expressed a high opinion of Russia-UAE cooperation in countering the coronavirus infection and reaffirmed mutual striving to continue cooperation, including on the development and production of a vaccine. Their discussion also touched on urgent matters regarding the further development of the bilateral strategic partnership, including the implementation of the agreements following the Russian President's state visit to the UAE in October 2019, the statement added. In exchanging views on the situation in Libya, both sides noted the importance of resuming an inter-Libyan dialogue and consolidating international efforts on a political-diplomatic settlement of the Libyan crisis, the statement concluded.
