US Democrats to visit UAE, India and Poland

Delegation includes Democratic Senators Mark Kelly, Kirsten Gillibrand and Cory Booker

US Senator Mark Kelly during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill, Washington, last month. AP

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A senior US Congressional delegation will visit the UAE, India, Poland, Germany and Nepal within days to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine and bilateral relations with Washington.

Embarking on the nine-day trip is a group of four Democratic Senators and one House member, including Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, it was announced in an email on Sunday night.

The politicians said they would meet US troops in Poland “to learn how the US can continue to support Ukraine and our Nato allies against Russia’s unprovoked and unwarranted war”.

“In addition, the delegation will meet with a number of key foreign leaders in Poland, UAE, India, Nepal and Germany to strengthen ties during this period of heightened global tension,” the joint statement said.

Accompanying Mr Kelly will be fellow Democratic senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker and Ed Markey. Ms Gillibrand is chairwoman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee.

Also on the trip is Democratic Congress member Mondaire Jones of New York.

Ryan Bohl, senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at Rane, said the trip was arranged to attract more support for Ukraine, especially from countries, including the UAE and India, that have remained neutral on Russia’s invasion of its neighbour.

“For the Americans, the UAE’s and India’s neutral stance between the Russians and Ukrainians is something they’d like to change,” Mr Bohl told The National.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, in Morocco on March 29.

Last week, the US held a high-level strategic dialogue with India in Washington.

Mr Blinken hosted Indian Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar, and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin met Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the Pentagon.

Calming the oil markets and strengthening the sanctions regime on Russia are items sure to come up during the trip, Mr Bohl predicted.

“Ahead of the midterms [in November], Democrats are looking for wins they can sell at home as well, so these trips are certainly political in nature,” the expert said.

Two Republican members of Congress, senator Steve Daines and Ukrainian-born congresswoman Victoria Spartz, met Ukrainian officials in Kyiv and Bucha last week.