UAE president tells Putin: we are ready to help resolve Ukraine crisis

MOSCOW (Reuters) - United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday that he was ready to support efforts to find peace in Ukraine.

Putin met Sheikh Mohammed for informal talks on Sunday that went on until midnight at his residence outside Moscow.

"We continue to make efforts to mediate the exchange of prisoners," Sheikh Mohammed told Putin in the Kremlin, through a translator.

"And I assure you that we will continue to work in this direction. We are ready to make any efforts to resolve crises and in the interests of peace, in the interests of both sides."

Putin has previously praised both Sheikh Mohammed and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their mediation efforts over Ukraine.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov and Olesya Astakhova; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Kevin Liffey)