UAE islands and security in the Gulf region

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who is also the deputy commander of the armed forces in the UAE, said that the question of the three UAE islands under conflict with Iran constitutes an obstacle in any security equation in the Gulf region.

He added in a statement to the London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat daily issued on Saturday that Yemen's experience in settling its dispute with Eritrea over Hanish Island would be an example to settle the dispute between his country and Iran.

Sheikh Khalifa stated that his country is not concerned with any arms race and that the US jet deal the UAE has contracted upon recently was for defense purposes, rather than for imposing hegemony or interfering in the affairs of others. He added that the real danger to the security of the region is in the heated arms-race to own non-traditional weapons.

Sheikh Khalifa stressed that bilateral cooperation between his country and any of the GCC member states constitutes tributaries for the joint Gulf cooperation and cannot be viewed as an attempt to create an axis inside the GCC.