It has been a very fruitful visit to the Middle East and the Gulf region. We already have landmark agreements with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. We are also working with Jordan and Kuwait.
Rustem Umerov is currently in the region, continuing political-level negotiations – he reported to me today – and there are already additional requests from Bahrain and Oman.
For Ukraine, this is not only a matter of prestige and respect for our people; it is a very practical matter. We are exporting our system of protection, the skills of our warriors, the knowledge that our state possesses. And from these partner countries we expect reciprocal security engagement.
We have already agreed on opportunities to strengthen air defense, on the joint development of defense production, and on energy cooperation, including diesel and other critical supplies that we need right now.