Pentagon Signs Deal With UAE on US Military Presence in Country

The United States signed a framework military cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on May 8 that outlines the principles for US troop’s presence in that country, Department of Defense spokesman Christopher Sherwood told Sputnik on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The spokesperson explained the arrangement will allow the US military "to more seamlessly respond to a range of scenarios in and around the UAE, if necessary."

"The Defense Cooperation Agreement does not prescribe cooperation against particular actors or in particular theaters; it is not a policy document. Rather, it is a framework that dictates the magnitude and conditions of the US military presence in-country," Sherwood stated.

The new deal replaced the agreement the two countries reached in 1994 in the aftermath of the first Gulf War.

"Both sides determined it was time to update the agreement to reflect the broad range of military-to-military cooperation that the UAE and United States enjoy today," Sherwood said.

On Monday, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis met with UAE Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss the bilateral US-UAE military alliance.

Mattis and the UAE crown prince also discussed a range of shared security threats, including the ongoing instability in Yemen and Libya, and the campaign in Iraq and Syria to defeat Daesh, according to the Defense Department.