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Ukraine on Saturday agreed to cooperate on defence with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar as President Volodymyr Zelensky travelled to both countries amid escalating tensions in the region.
Qatar’s defence ministry said in a statement on Saturday that Doha and Kyiv have signed a defence cooperation agreement, which includes the exchange of expertise in countering missiles and unmanned aerial systems.
“We are talking about a 10-year partnership. We have already signed the agreement with Saudi Arabia, and we have just signed a similar 10-year agreement with Qatar,” Zelensky told reporters during an online briefing.
“We will also sign a 10-year agreement with the UAE. It will happen within the next several days.”
Zelensky had earlier been to the UAE and met President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the two countries agreed to cooperate in the fields of security and defence.
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has killed more than 2,000 people, upended global markets and effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz.
Ukraine has offered its air-defence expertise and drone technology to countries in the region.
Zelensky hopes to draw support from the Gulf nations in Ukraine’s war against Russia, which is now in its fifth year, as Western military aid faces new uncertainty and Kyiv scrambles for cash to cover its budget deficit and fund domestic weapon production.
More than 200 Ukrainian military and security experts have been dispatched to advise Middle East countries on how to intercept drone attacks that have wreaked havoc on energy infrastructure across the region.
Zelensky said that during his visits, he sought to build strategic relationships with the Gulf region, and raise funds to invest in weapons production in Ukraine.
The talks focused on weapons co-production, exchanging experiences, and also on securing energy and fuel supplies to Ukraine, Zelensky said.
Zelensky agreed on diesel supplies for a year to Ukraine but provided no other details. Diesel is key for the Ukrainian armed forces and for the country’s agricultural sector.
Ukraine needed about 700,000 litres of diesel a month, Zelensky said, adding that the army was fully supplied.
Earlier this week, Zelensky visited Saudi Arabia, where the two countries also signed an agreement on defence cooperation.
