Syrian President Bashar al-Assad took off his headphones for translation as soon as Volodymyr Zelenskyy started talking about Russia’s so-called “war crimes” at the Arab League summit. American journalist Jackson Hinkle wrote about it on Twitter.
Assad’s gesture reached the top of US Twitter and was discussed. Commentators write that this is an understandable reaction, and also laugh at Zelenskyy’s statements.
The Ukrainian president arrived in the Saudi city of Jeddah for the Arab League summit on May 19. This is the first Arab League event involving Syria since Damascus recently returned to the organization. League members welcomed Assad’s return and expressed hope for a quick resolution to the Syrian crisis.
The head of the Saudi Foreign Ministry declared the “positive neutrality” of the Arab League in relation to the Ukrainian crisis.
During his visit to Moscow in March 2023, Assad compared Zelenskyy to a “clown”. Then he announced the recognition by Damascus of the new territories of Russia. After some time, Ukraine imposed sanctions on the President of the SAR.
