Abu Dhabi Crown Prince offers condolences to John McCain’s family

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has offered his condolences to the family of US senator John McCain, who died on Saturday.

McCain, 81, was suffering from brain cancer.

“The USA has lost one of its most prominent and respected activists, Senator John McCain. We shared a long friendship and worked together to strengthen bilateral cooperation. My sincere condolences to his family, friends and the American people,” Sheikh Mohamed wrote on Twitter.

The USA has lost one of its most prominent and respected activists, Senator John McCain. We shared a long friendship and worked together to strengthen bilateral cooperation. My sincere condolences to his family, friends and the American people.

— محمد بن زايد (@MohamedBinZayed) August 26, 2018

McCain, a senator from Arizona for over three decades, was a former prisoner of war in Vietnam and ran unsuccessfully for US President as the Republican candidate in 2008.

Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, McCain was also a frequent critic of US President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican.

A statement from his office said: “Senator John Sidney McCain III died at 4.28pm on 25 August 2018. With the senator when he passed were his wife Cindy and their family. At his death, he had served the United States of America faithfully for 60 years.”

Trump expressed his condolences in a brief message on Twitter.

My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain. Our hearts and prayers are with you!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 26, 2018

Former US President Barack Obama, who defeated McCain, posted a longer statement, stating “we shared, for all our differences, a fidelity to something higher — the ideals for which generations of Americans and immigrants alike have fought, marched and sacrificed.”

Our statement on the passing of Senator John McCain: pic.twitter.com/3GBjNYxoj5

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 26, 2018