Al Nahyan maintains a strong relationship with Russia and its president Vladimir Putin, and has brokered talks between Russia and the Trump Administration. In 2016, Mohammed bin Zayed was found involved in the Russian meddling of the US presidential elections, where his adviser George Nader arranged a meeting for him and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Seychelles with the US and Russian delegates, including Erik Prince and Kirill Dmitriev. On 3 June 2019, Nader, who lobbied for the UAE and Saudi Arabia, was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography. A year later, he was sentenced to ten years in prison on child sex charges. Al Nahyan was named in the final report of special counsel Robert Mueller III on the alleged collusion between Trump campaign and Russia, which the investigation later concluded that there was no collusion between the meeting that occurred with Al Nahyan. Al Nahyan's strong relationship with both Russia and the United States, as well as the influence he wields across both of the superpowers, has led to "The New York Times" to label him as the Arab World's "most powerful ruler". Putin calls Al Nahyan an "old friend", calling him "a big friend of our country, a big friend of Russia". Putin and Al Nahyan talk with each other on the phone regularly. In an official state visit to the Emirates, Putin gifted Al Nahyan a Russian gyrfalcon. The UAE also trained the first two Emirati astronauts Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi, and successfully launched the first Emirati and first Arab Astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri to the International Space Station with Russian help.