Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an unannounced stop in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday for a brief meeting with that nation’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss the ongoing Russian invasion of his country and a scheduled “peace summit” to address it.
Zelensky revealed the visit on social media, sharing photos with the crown prince and celebrating the meeting as “meaningful and energetic.”
The state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) also confirmed the meeting and shared photos, stating that Mohammed bin Salman offered Zelensky Saudi Arabia’s “keenness and support for all international efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.”
The meeting occurred shortly before Zelensky’s arrival at this week’s G7 summit in Italy where he is expected to meet several world leaders including leftist President Joe Biden. Reports in anticipation of the G7 summit indicate that the participating powers are planning to offer Ukraine a $50 billion loan to help fund the war effort.
Ukraine is a not a member of the G7.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hugs Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, right, upon his arrival at the G7, Thursday, June 13, 2024, in Borgo Egnazia, Italy. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The top diplomatic item on Zelensky’s agenda currently is the promotion of a “peace summit” to discuss ending the Russian invasion, scheduled to take place in Switzerland this weekend. Zelensky has made multiple personal appearances in neutral countries – most recently in Singapore, the Philippines, and Qatar – seeking their participation in the summit. An estimated 90 countries were once expected to attend, though that number reportedly dropped as of this week to 78. Notably absent from the list of participants is Russia, a point of contention for several would-be participants. The Communist Party of China is the most high-profile nation to decline the invite, stating that the summit would not be productive without Russian participation.
The Saudi government has neither confirmed nor denied its presence at the Switzerland summit. Some reports indicate that Saudi officials are disinclined to attend because Russian officials will not be there.
Zelensky specified in his statement on his visit to Jeddah on Wednesday that he discussed the summit with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“We discussed bilateral relations between Ukraine and Saudi Arabia, noting the good progress on previous agreements and our teams’ effective cooperation,” Zelensky wrote on social media. “We will keep working together. We also discussed the inaugural Global Peace Summit preparations, its expected outcomes and their possible implementation, as well as ways to bring true peace for Ukraine closer.”
“Ukraine is grateful to Saudi Arabia for its support. We value His Royal Highness’ willingness to help restore peace sooner,” the statement concluded.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry also published images of the meeting between the de facto head of the kingdom and the Ukrainian president, but offered less detail on the encounter.
The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that Zelensky “expressed his happiness at visiting the Kingdom” and “reviewed relations between the two countries and discussed the developments of the Ukrainian-Russian crisis” during his meeting with Mohammed bin Salman.
“HRH the Crown Prince reaffirmed the Kingdom’s keenness and support for all international efforts aimed at resolving the crisis,” SPA added, “while continuing to contribute to finding ways to mitigate the humanitarian impact. The Ukrainian president expressed appreciation for the efforts made by the Kingdom in this regard.”
SPA did not mention the Switzerland summit.
Ukraine and Saudi Arabia did not have remarkably close or hostile diplomatic relations before Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, however, Zelensky has made regular visits to the kingdom seeking cooperation with Riyadh and support for his country. Zelensky made his first-ever trip to Saudi Arabia in May 2023, meeting with Mohammed bin Salman and other senior leaders.
“KSA plays a significant role and we are ready to take our cooperation to a new level,” Zelensky declared at the time.
The visit followed an intervention by the Saudi government in September 2022 that resulted in a Russian-Ukrainian prisoner swap. Russia reportedly released 215 imprisoned Ukrainians in return for 55 Russian soldiers and oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk.
“His Royal Highness was able to convince President Putin that this is a humanitarian gesture that is worthwhile, and this is how we achieved this result,” Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al Saud said in an interview at the time. “His Royal Highness has always been convinced that dialogue is the primary avenue to resolve differences, and he made quite clear through the beginning of this conflict when he reached out to both President Putin and President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy that we believe that there should be a negotiated settlement, and we continue to work towards that.”
Saudi Arabia also committed $400 million in support to Ukraine in February 2023, including $100 million in humanitarian aid and the rest paid in oil.
“We see interaction with Saudi Arabia not only at the bilateral level, not only at the multilateral level in the context of the U.N. and other international organizations, but also at the regional level, and we will coordinate our efforts,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said at the time.
Saudi Arabia’s cordial relations with Kyiv have not stopped it from maintaining friendly ties to Russia. Saudi Arabia is a regular customer for Russian oil and has rejected sanctions on Moscow. Russian strongman Vladimir Putin visited Saudi Arabia in December, where he was feted as a “cherished guest.”
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