Four armed Su-35 fighter jets of the Russian air force accompanied Russian President Vladimir Putin's plane on its way to the United Arab Emirates, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
"During the flight of the presidential airplane to the landing in Abu Dhabi, the head of state was escorted by four Su-35S fighter jets of the Russian Aerospace Forces. These fighters carried standard armament of various classes. The Su-35S took off from an operational airfield in Russia in difficult weather conditions with heavy rain and gusty winds. The fighters were piloted by top-tier pilots," Peskov said.
The Kremlin spokesman added that special flight permissions had been received from the countries whose territories were passed during the overflight.
The four Su-35 combat aircraft carried air-to-air missiles, according to a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry. The jets spread out in two from each side of the presidential plane. They were armed with R-73 and R-77 missiles, with the latter capable of hitting aerial targets at a range of 110 kilometers (68 miles).
Putin and Al Nahyan discussed during the meeting the state and prospects for further development of Russian-UAE cooperation. The agenda also included topical international issues, with a focus on the situation in the Middle East region.
This is the second meeting of the leaders this year. The previous took place in June on the margins of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, where the UAE was represented with the honorific status of the "guest country."
During his visit, the Russian leader was accompanied by a delegation of high-ranking officials, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, deputy prime ministers Andrei Belousov and Alexander Novak, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov, Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Russian state space corporation Roscosmos head Yury Borisov, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom head Alexey Likhachev and Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev.