Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on his way to the G-7 summit, made a stopover in the Saudi city of Jeddah, where the Arab League (LAS) summit is being held. Reuters reported that Zelenskyy received the plane from the French government for the trip.
This is Zelenskyy’s first trip to Saudi Arabia. On Friday, he called on countries participating in the Arab League to support Ukraine’s proposals for a 10-point peace plan and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Zelenskyy said every delegate to the Arab League summit would receive the text of his 10-point peace plan. He asked them to work directly with Ukraine, without intermediaries.
Gulf states remain neutral on war in Ukraine despite Western pressure on Gulf oil producers to help isolate OPEC+ member Russia.
In his speech in Jeddah, Zelenskyy noted that some countries, including members of the Arab League, prefer to “turn a blind eye” to Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukrainian lands and sending Ukrainians to prison throughout of the war, which has already lasted 15 months.
“I’m sure we can all come together to save people from the cages of Russian prisons,” Zelenskyy said from the podium at the Arab League summit.
According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s priorities are the return of all political prisoners, all prisoners and illegally deported. The Jeddah Ukrainian includes Mustafa Dzhemilev, one of the leaders of the Crimean Tatars.
“Crimea was the first to suffer from Russian occupation, and the majority of those suffering repression in occupied Crimea are Muslims,” Zelenskyy said, addressing Arab League summit delegates.
For his part, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said at the summit on Friday that his kingdom was ready to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.
Last year, Mohammed bin Salman secured the release of 10 people detained in Russia, including foreigners who fought alongside Ukraine. The move, according to Reuters, was made possible by his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Saudi Arabia has faced heavy criticism from the United States over OPEC+’s decision to cut oil production, which has helped Russia rebuild its budget on rising oil prices .
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