Zelenskiy, in UAE, discusses bringing back Ukrainians from Russia

By Tala Ramadan

DUBAI (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday he had discussed bringing back Ukrainians from Russian captivity with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at a meeting in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

"The UAE's mediation has saved many lives," Zelenskiy wrote on X. "We are grateful for this crucial cooperation and today we discussed how to continue it."

The United Arab Emirates has played a key role in overseeing the return of Ukrainians deported to Russia during the nearly three-year-old war, many of them children.

Zelenskiy had said earlier that the top priority for his visit was to ensure "that still more of our people are able to return home from captivity".

He also announced the signing of an economic agreement between two countries that liberalizes access to the UAE market for nearly all Ukrainian goods.

The comprehensive economic partnership covers goods, services, investments and digital trade among other sectors, Ukraine's Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on X.

"In the medium to long term, this partnership alone is expected to contribute around 0.10% to Ukraine's GDP growth trajectory," she said.

The highest growth rates are expected in transportation, metallurgy and the food industry, Svyrydenko added.

During the meeting, Sheikh Mohammed reaffirmed the UAE's commitment to support a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict and initiatives to ease its humanitarian impact.

U.S. and Russian officials will meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to start talks aimed at ending the war.

(Reporting by Tala Ramadan, Anastasiia Malenko and Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Toby Chopra, Kevin Liffey and Hugh Lawson)