UAE: First Emirati astronaut Al Mansouri thanks Putin for Russia’s support

M/S Russian President Vladimir Putin and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan meet first UAE astronauts Sultan Al Neyadi and Hazza Al Mansouri
*UPSOUND* Al Mansouri (Russian): “I am very pleased to see you today.”
Putin: “Thanks and good luck to you.”
Al Neyadi: “It’s a great honour for me to be a participant of the programme.”
Al Mansouri: “We’ve spent a year in Russia. It felt like home for us. Thanks for your support and help, in this country we felt like home. Due to all of you and the instructors from Roscosmos, we felt really good there.”
SOT, Hazza Al Mansouri, first UAE astronaut (Russian): "Thank you."
Vladimir Putin, Russian president (Russian): "Thank you. It all has happened due to the Crown Prince [of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan], as it was his initiative and he completed its implementation. Our country’s dear friend, Russia’s dear friend. We discussed it with him and we made it."
W/S Putin and Sheikh Mohammed shaking hands with UAE astronauts
SCRIPT
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan met with the first-ever UAE astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Al Mansouri and his backup, astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi thanked Putin for supporting the UAE’s space programme.
“We’ve spent a year in Russia. It felt like home for us. Thank for your support and help, we felt like home in Russia. Due to all of you and the instructors from Roscosmos, we felt really good there,” said Al Mansouri.
Putin on his part thanked the UAE astronaut team, adding that “it all has happened due to the Crown Prince [of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan], as it was his initiative and he completed its implementation”.
Earlier during bilateral talks with the crown prince, Putin said that Moscow was ready to continue supporting the Emirati space programme.
Hazza Al Mansouri made history by becoming the first Emirati to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) at the end of September supported by the Russian space industry. He returned to Earth on October 3 after spending eight days aboard the ISS.