On July 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed about developments in Libya. After their discussion, which was initiated from the Emirati side, Russia stated that it and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) wished to revive inter-Libyan dialogue initiatives and consolidate international efforts on a political-diplomatic settlement of the Libyan crisis. Russia’s official statement placed discussions about Libya within the broader context of a strengthening Russia-UAE strategic partnership, which was forged by both countries in June 2018.
Due to their regular consultations and shared support for Libya National Army (LNA) strongman Khalifa Hifter's offensive on Tripoli, Russia and the UAE are often described as partners in Libya. Albadr Alshateri, a former professor at Abu Dhabi’s National Defense College and commentator on Emirati security policy, told Al-Monitor that “the UAE and Russia are on the same side of the Libyan conflict.” To elaborate on this assertion, Alshateri said that “the UAE sees Russia as a very reliable partner as opposed to Western countries who have to defer to parliaments and civil society pressure. If Vladimir Putin says something, you will have an ironclad commitment that it will be done.”
Despite tightened Russia-UAE military cooperation, which includes reports of the UAE financing Russia’s Wagner Group private military contractors in Libya, the collapse of Hifter's offensive against Tripoli has exposed latent frictions within Moscow and Abu Dhabi’s approaches to Libya. This discord is principally fueled by Russia and the UAE’s clashing geopolitical ambitions and differing acceptable post-conflict outcomes in Libya.
In a comment to Al-Monitor, Kirill Semenov, a Russian defense expert focusing on Middle East affairs, summarized Russia-UAE disagreements on Libya. Semenov stated that Russia’s vision for Libya is driven by pragmatism as “Russia is ready to work with all Libyan forces that might be useful,” but the UAE’s involvement in Libya is motivated by “ideology and its opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood, Turkey and Qatar.” Given this contrast in their respective approaches to Libya, Russia and the UAE disagree most sharply on diplomatic engagement with Turkey, the extent of their loyalty to Hifter and the acceptability of prospective Egyptian military intervention in Libya.
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