UAE president tells Rubio rejects displacement of Palestinians

ABU DHABI: United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan told visiting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday that Abu Dhabi opposes the displacement of Palestinians, official media reported.

Sheikh Mohammed “affirmed the UAE’s firm position rejecting any attempts aimed at displacing the Palestinian people from their land”, the Gulf state’s WAM news agency said.

Rubio departed Abu Dhabi after a brief stop in the UAE, the final leg of his first Middle East tour, which included discussions on a proposal by US President Donald Trump to place Gaza under US control and relocate its inhabitants.

The trip also saw breakthrough talks with Russian officials in Riyadh a day earlier, with discussions on issues including efforts to end the Ukraine war.

The UAE president “stressed the need for the reconstruction of Gaza to be linked to a path leading to comprehensive and lasting peace based on the two-state solution”, WAM reported.

Rubio’s visit to the UAE comes ahead of a Friday summit in Saudi Arabia of the six-state Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as Egypt and Jordan, in order to respond to Trump’s Gaza plan.

The Trump administration, which rejects any future role for Hamas in the Palestinian territory, has called on the Arab countries, which are firmly opposed to any displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, to propose alternatives to the US president’s plan.

Trump has proposed putting the Gaza Strip, devastated by more than 15 months of Israel bombardment, under US control and moving its 2.4 million inhabitants, mainly to neighbouring Jordan and Egypt.

In Saudi Arabia on Monday, Rubio met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, emphasising “the importance of an arrangement for Gaza that contributes to regional security”, according to a statement.

On Sunday, during his first stop in occupied Jerusalem, the US secretary of state offered unwavering US support to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, giving Israel the green light to proceed however it chooses in Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire took effect on January 19.

On Tuesday, Rubio led a US delegation in rare talks with Russian officials headed by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the Saudi capital.