The UAE’s “double game” becoming dangerous for the West

The United Arab Emirates has long been a close ally of the United States, with the two countries cooperating on issues ranging from security to trade. However, since at least the outbreak of the Ukraine war, tensions between the two nations have been on the rise, largely due to the UAE's growing relationship with Russia and allegations of sanctions evasion. Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai and Due Process International, however, says that the UAE has been drifting out of the US sphere of influence for years, and is building counter-alliances to establish itself as a major regional and international player, often disregarding American and European interests.

“The Ukraine war has only helped bring attention to the somewhat rogue behaviour of the Emirates in relation to its role as an official Western ally,” Stirling explains, “This rogue behaviour is not actually new; we have been cautioning about this for years but only recently are the US, UK, and Europe starting to take it seriously.”

Despite a raft of US and EU sanctions in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UAE has been strengthening its economic ties with Russia since the war began. Trade between the two countries has reached a record high with the UAE importing significant amounts of oil and gas from Russia, and Russian investors flooding the Dubai property market like never before.