In order to gain support for his country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attended the Arab League conference on Friday in Saudi Arabia. Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince, has shown his willingness to act as a mediator in the continuing dispute between Russia and Ukraine.
Arab leaders gathered in Jeddah to cordially welcome back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who had been absent for ten years but had received major support from Russia during the civil conflict in his nation. The Saudi Crown Prince declared in his inaugural statement that “We reaffirm the kingdom’s willingness to continue mediation attempts between Russia and Ukraine and to back all international initiatives that seek to resolve the conflict through political means, leading to the development of peace.”
In the past, Prince Mohammed served as a mediator in the dispute. Zelenskiy declared that each participant would receive a copy of his 10-point peace proposal and thanked Saudi Arabia for their previous cooperation. He also mentioned that he would be attending the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. He advised them to communicate with Ukraine directly rather than through middlemen. Gulf governments have made an effort to maintain their neutrality in the Ukraine war despite Western pressure on the region’s oil producers to isolate Russia, an OPEC+ member.
Zelenskiy criticised several nations, particularly Arab League members, for “turning a blind eye” to Russia’s illegitimate invasion of Ukrainian territory and the imprisonment of Ukrainians throughout the 15-month war in his speech at the summit.
Zelenskiy stated, “I am optimistic that united we can save people from the prison walls of Russia.” Due to his close friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Crown Prince Mohammed was able to negotiate the release of 10 foreign nationals who had been detained by Russia in Ukraine last year. Zelenskiy stated on Twitter shortly after landing in Jeddah that “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia serves an essential part, and we are willing to expand our relationship to a new level.” The United States criticised Saudi Arabia for its response to the OPEC+ decision to cut oil production, which was seen as favouring Russia by driving up prices.
Although the United States and other Western countries initially criticised the production cuts, later market dynamics have shown how sensible they were. This is especially important because the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to have an impact on the world’s energy markets, which increases Saudi Arabia’s significance as the top oil supplier to both Washington and Moscow.
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