As Prince told it, he was meeting with the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates to discuss topics including Middle East tensions and bauxite mining when the prince’s brother casually suggested that he go downstairs to chat with “this Russian guy.”
Prince never mentioned a role for Nader in arranging the meeting with Dmitriev. He also said he had no knowledge of a meeting in New York the month before between a U.A.E. delegation and Steve Bannon, who was then Trump’s top strategist, as well as Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.