VAUX-DE-CERNAY: Ukraine is close to clinching several security agreements — including with the UAE and Qatar — to counter Iranian attacks, its foreign minister said on Friday, adding that he saw scope to draw China into peace efforts to end the war with Russia.
“We have the situation in the Middle East so it is important not to lose the global attention on the Ukrainian case, because everything is interlinked,” Andrii Sybiha told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers meeting in France.
Kyiv is hoping to bolster support in its war against Russia, which is now in its fifth year, as the U.S. Israeli conflict with Iran raises uncertainty over whether Washington will restrict its military supplies.
With President Volodymyr Zelenskiy currently in the Gulf region, Sybiha said draft accords had been prepared with a number of countries on possible contributions and mutual cooperation, notably on unmanned technologies.
“Hopefully during the visit with some countries, these documents will be concluded and finalised,” he said.
Discussions had been held with Saudi Arabia - with which Zelenskiy earlier on Friday said he had agreed a deal - Kuwait, Jordan and Oman, but the most advanced talks were with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, Sybiha said. Sybiha said Gulf Arab countries had used more than 800 Patriot missiles since the war had started to defend themselves, so they now wanted to learn from Ukraine’s experience in shooting down Russian drones and missiles.