Mr. Blinken will travel to Morocco later this week, his first visit there as secretary of state. While there, he is also expected to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates, which refused late last month to denounce Russia’s invasion by abstaining from an American-backed resolution at the United Nations Security Council.
Russia-Ukraine War: Key Developments
Card 1 of 4Biden’s trip comes to an end. President Biden offered a message of unity and support for Ukraine in an address in Warsaw as he wrapped up a three-day trip to Europe. The speech came amid reports that the Ukrainian city of Lviv just across the Polish border had been hit by missiles.
On the ground. Ukraine’s counteroffensive appeared to be gaining momentum, with the military hitting Russian targets and claiming territorial gains. Their progress underscores Russia’s flawed execution of the invasion, with supply shortages and demoralizing conditions for its soldiers.
Russia signals a shift. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the goals of the “first stage of the operation” had been “mainly accomplished,” and that it would now focus on securing Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. The ambiguous statement could signal a possible recalibration of its war aims.
Weapons of mass destruction. Dmitri A. Medvedev, the vice chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said the country was prepared to use nuclear weapons if its existence was threatened. NATO allies earlier agreed to provide Ukraine with equipment and training to deal with fallout from a possible Russian attack using chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
The Persian Gulf nation also has sidestepped U.S. requests to increase oil production for European markets that had relied on Russian energy. The Emirates buys military weapons from Moscow and has given haven to Russian oligarchs and others closely linked to Mr. Putin who have relocated to Dubai to escape the international sanctions’ bite.
The disconnect over Russia represents the latest sign of frayed relations between Washington and the Emirates that began cooling when President Biden made clear that the Middle East would not be a top foreign policy priority for his administration. It has sought instead to focus on the United States’ complex relations with China and, more recently, on deterring Russia.
This month the Emirati ambassador to Washington described a “stress test” underway between the U.A.E. and the United States, caused in part by the Biden administration’s renewed negotiations for a nuclear deal with Iran and by a dispute over a $23 billion arms sale that would have sent advanced American warplanes to the U.A.E. The ambassador, Yousef al-Otaiba, described “strong days where the relationship is very healthy, and days where the relationship is under question.”