By: Maria Maalouf, Guest Contributor*

The UAE’s President, Sheik Muhammad Bin Zayed, met in Moscow with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin amid much turmoil in international politics. There is American anger at the OPEC decision to cut oil production by 2 million barrels daily.

There is also a war going on between Russia and Ukraine. The Biden Administration should positively view the active diplomatic role of the United Arab Emirates and the wise statesmanship of Muhammad Bin Zayed.

The Emirates is not changing its relationship with the United States. The Emirates is sending a message to the world that it is possible to engage Russia gradually in world politics again and discuss with its leaders seriously how to end its war with Ukraine. There is no need to misinterpret the diplomacy of the Emirates. It allows Russia to change its behavior and terminate the war soon. For sure, there are diplomatic difficulties approaching Russia. One recent American commentator described Russia as a failed state. Contrary, the Emirates still sees a role for Russia in world politics, and there could be a good purpose in returning Russia to the world community of nations and in ending the global boycott of her. The capacity of the U.A.E is that it can help revive Russia’s economic ties with the West. It is significant to notice that the Emirates is the only nation where the Russian national airliner Aeroflot still operates. The Emirates understands that it is wrong to isolate Russia entirely. An isolated Russia with dangerous weapons is a lethal prospect in world politics.

Russia needs the Emirates because the Kremlin leaders feel that it is safe to talk to Muhammad Bin Zayed and discuss with him a full and heavy schedule of critical stakes in international relations. On the other hand, the Emirates still maintains excellent relations with the United States. It buys a lot of American weapons. The two countries have prospering trade and investment relations. Yet, the best quality about the Emirates is that it can assume new foreign policy tasks. Previously, it succeeded in thwarting the dangers of the Muslim Brothers reaching power in Egypt and many other countries in the Arab World. Now, it has the task of assessing the strategic implications of the failures of the collapsing regime of the Ayatollahs in Iran. The Emirates’ public ethics is one of religious tolerance, and its ethos has sympathy with the truth. Therefore, it will have excellent insights into what is going on in the tumultuous state of affairs in Iran at present and shortly. Hence, it is a must for Biden’s White House to listen carefully to how the Emirates is probing and monitoring the deteriorating situation inside Iran.
Ultimately, Sheik Muhammad Bin Zayed is a realist in foreign policy. He knows how to articulate the national interest of his country very well. He does not intend to play Russia against America or vice versa. His methods of diplomacy are straightforward and honest. He is working to promote strategic stability in the Gulf. America should not steer itself away from the Emirates because its President went to Russia. America should comprehend the Emirates’ foreign policy steps and imitative as profoundly impactful foreign policy endeavors.

*The views in this article are the express opinions of the author

Maria Maalouf is a journalist, broadcaster, and owner of the capitol Tv show from Washington DC. She holds an MA in Political Sociology from the University of Lyon. You can find her on Twitter @bilarakib