Trump says Saudi Arabia lobbied for UAE sanctions : Report
The New York Times ,on Friday, reported that the US President Donald Trump told his UAE counterpart, Mohammed bin Zayed, that Saudi Arabia lobbied for sanctions on the emirates over their support for Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
According to the report, Trump delivered the message to Mohammed bin Zayed in a November phone call, after the visit of Mohammed bin Salman to the White House.
The UAE has supported the RSF, whose month-long siege of el-Fasher in Darfur was described by a United Nations panel last week as bearing the “hallmarks of genocide”. RSF’s attacks have been defined by rape and mass slaughter.
At a Saudi-US business forum in Washington, Trump stated “His Majesty would like me to do something very powerful having to do with Sudan,” adding, “We’re going to start working on it.”
As the UAE gave support to the RSF, Riyadh has emerged as a backer of the Sudanese army, along with Egypt and Turkey. Geographically, Sudan is directly across the Red Sea from Saudi Arabia.
According to the NYT report, Trump told the Emirati leader "that his friends were out to get him, but that [Trump] had his back”.
Many analysts believe that Saudi Arabia’s lobbying lead the UAE to back a offensive by secessionist forces in Yemen in December, which in turn lead to a sweeping Saudi military offensive in Yemen that evicted the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council from power.
According to many US and western officials, Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman sent a "lengthy" letter to UAE national security advisor Tahnoon bin Zayed, complaining about the UAE's activities in Sudan and Yemen.
Offering mediation through the crown prince's brother and advisor, Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman, the letter has a detailed list of complaints against the UAE.
In what appears to be an effort to defuse tensions over the sanctions rumours, the letter expressed shock that the UAE believed that Saudi Arabia had pressed the US to sanction it.
Trump has not imposed sanctions on the UAE, although the US did announce new sanctions on RSF commanders last week.
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