Sky painted in red, blue and white, guns fired as Putin arrives in UAE

Four Sukhoi Su-35S fighter aircraft accompanied Vladimir Putin's flight to Abu Dhabi, Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"The fighters carried standard weapons of various classes. The Su-35S fighters took off from an operational airfield in Russia in difficult weather conditions amid heavy rain and gusty winds. The fighters were piloted by first-class pilots,” Peskov said.

The countries, through which Putin's airplane and fighter jets were passing, issued special permission for the flight. Peskov did not specify what countries they were exactly.

In honour of Putin's arrival of the Russian President, airplanes painted the sky in the colours of the Russian flag. Russian and UAE flags were flying along the route of the vehicles of the Russian delegation. Guns were fired to salute President Putin, the Russian anthem was played at the Qasr Al-Watan presidential palace in Abu Dhabi.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met Vladimir Putin at the palace. Zayed Al Nahyan called the Russian leader his dear friend and noted that the United Arab Emirates was Russia's largest trading partner in the Middle East and the Gulf countries.

In turn, the Russian President said that the relations between the UAE and Russia reached an unprecedented high level.

Putin visits the UAE for the first time since 2019

Putin's visit to the UAE was announced on December 5. Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the agenda would include issues related to the oil market, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and other regional and international issues.

Putin last visited the UAE in 2019. He then gave the Prince of Abu Dhabi a white gyrfalcon. As a return gift, Prince Abu Dadi presented Putin with a model of the Qasr al-Hosn Palace.