Russian defense companies were out in force at an arms fair in the United Arab Emirates despite international sanctions, pitching to sell weapons that a top ally of Vladimir Putin said had been battle-tested in the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
(Bloomberg) —
Russian defense companies were out in force at an arms fair in the United Arab Emirates despite international sanctions, pitching to sell weapons that a top ally of Vladimir Putin said had been battle-tested in the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
More than 200 Russian weapons ranging from tanks to air-defense systems and ammunition were on show Monday at the IDEX exhibition in Abu Dhabi, the region’s biggest defense and security fair, according to the manufacturers.
“Most of the presented products have already been tested in real combat conditions,” Sergey Chemezov, head of Russia’s state Rostec defense-industry conglomerate, said before the expo opened, according to the company’s press service. “This is one of the main advantages of Russian weapons over competitors.”
The US, the UK and the European Union have sanctioned Russian arms producers in response to the war in Ukraine that will reach the one-year mark this week with no sign of an end to the bloodshed. The UAE, the Middle East’s main business and export hub, is seeking to build its own arms industry, like other regional powers including Saudi Arabia, and has hedged its position on the invasion while maintaining close political, energy and business ties with Russia.
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Some US officials have warned about the risk of Russians using the Middle Eastern country to evade sanctions. UAE officials have maintained that the nation is independent and follows international law but isn’t obliged to observe penalties imposed by individual jurisdictions like the US and UK. The UAE also says it takes its role in protecting the integrity of the global financial system extremely seriously.
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Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, who is under international sanctions, attended the fair and hailed a 68% increase in trade between Russia and the UAE to $9 billion in 2022, according to the state-run Tass news service. Putin put Manturov in charge of military production in July to boost supplies to Russian forces as the invasion faltered.
Still, unlike in previous years, organizers haven’t included Russian companies in IDEX’s main hall. Instead, they have been kept separate from other exhibitors and placed in an isolated pavilion at the event along with Russia’s state sales agent, Rosoboronexport.
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