MOSCOW. April 20 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates, to discuss joint actions against terrorism.
"We attach great importance to the development of our relations, they have always been based and are based on friendship and respect for mutual interests," Putin said at a meeting with the crown prince.
Putin said he believed it was important to exchange information on the situation in the region with Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a timely manner and "to speak about what we can do together to fight international terrorism."
He also said that "plans should be made in the trade-economic sphere, [...] bearing in mind that we generally managed to overcome the negative tendencies in mutual trade last year."
The crown prince of Abu Dhabi, for his part, thanked the Russian president for the meeting. "There is no doubt that it is taking place at an important moment, at the moment when we think about how to further develop our privileged relations with you, Mr. President," Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said.
He said there are many challenges in the Middle East region he expected to discuss with Putin.