The UAE called Western sanctions against Russia ineffective

Sanctions against Russia have little impact outside the West; they slow the economy “but never stop it,” the chairman of the UAE’s leading free trade zone, the Dubai Multi Commodities Center (DMCC), and the former head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told the Financial Times. Dubai Hamad Buamim.

“The fact that the economy is not controlled solely by one side of the world makes these sanctions less effective,” Buamim said. According to the head of the DMCC, measures imposed against Russia due to military actions in Ukraine are “effective if you look at the West”, but in other parts of the world the situation is different.

Buamim said he did not see the restrictions as “a tool to exert any influence.” “They just make trading difficult. <...> Trade continues, it just proceeds differently,” he said.

In the summer of 2022,  Bloomberg wrote that the UAE had become the “new Switzerland” for companies trading raw materials from Russia: after Switzerland joined EU sanctions , many firms decided to open business in Dubai. According to Buamim, the reason for the move was not restrictive measures. “We have companies from other countries. They see that Dubai has infrastructure, access to the market, we maintain a neutral position [in relation to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine],” said the head of DMCC.

The former head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry added that maintaining a position that is “neither pro-American nor anti-China” has become more difficult recently as the United States has begun asking other states to choose sides.

In May, Reuters, citing sources, reported that Western countries were putting pressure on the UAE over its trade ties with Moscow amid concerns over the supply of dual-use goods. Abu Dhabi stated that it controls the export and re-export of such products and does not record any violations.

The United States that same month imposed sanctions on a number of companies from the United Arab Emirates, suspecting them of “supporting the military-industrial base” of Russia. At the end of 2023, US President Joe Biden adopted a decree on measures against financial organizations that help Russia circumvent sanctions or finance purchases for military purposes. After this, a number of UAE banks began to limit settlements with Russia and close accounts of companies and individuals. The Russian authorities consider the sanctions imposed against the country, its citizens and companies to be illegal and ineffective and demand their lifting.