Putin gifts another Gyrfalcon to UAE Crown Prince, after Saudi King

Russian President Vladimir Putin has gifted another gyrfalcon to UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, after gifting one to Saudi Arabia's King Salman. The Russian President presented both the monarchs with the same gift during his first visit to the Middle East since 2007. In return to this, MBZ gifted Putin with a glossy model of an Emirati palace, and the Saudi Kingdom gifted the Russian President with a priced Arabic painting.

However, the prey bird drew due attention in Riyadh after it defecated in front of the Saudi Arabian King, as Putin gently stroked the Gyrfalcon, named Alpha. Meanwhile, the Gyrfalcon gifted to the UAE Crown Prince seemed comparatively calmer. 

Putin's visit to the gulf came after the growing hostility between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite Iran and the attack on  Aramco. While many countries, including the United Kingdom, France, and the US blamed Iran for the attacks on Saudi oil facilities, Putin has been treading cautiously and never directly held Iran responsible for it. Putin, in an interview with Arab media, had lauded Russia's ties with Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

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Putin's Middle East visit 

Vladimir Putin's visit to the Middle East and received the warmest welcome by the allies of the United States, leading experts to believe that the Russian President emerged to benefit from US President Donald Trump's disputable decision to withdraw troops from north-east Syria. 

With the Middle East served on a platter, Putin visited the oil-rich regions and signed deals worth billions of dollars. The Russian President sealed deals worth over $1.3 billion with the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, wrapping up a tour of the Gulf where he also courted investment in Saudi Arabia. A day after inking a major oil cooperation deal with Riyadh, Putin was greeted by Abu Dhabi's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ).

After a series of incidents in the Gulf that raised fears of a regional conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Russian political analysts had said that Russia could "play the role of a peacemaker." Putin recently announced that he would visit Israel, another US ally, next year. 

Major Arab powers have expressed their concerns over the US' withdrawal from Syria's northeastern region and the subsequent military incursion by Turkey against the Kurds. 

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