On Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and held a press conference with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. The visit comes as Saudi Arabia maintains strong ties with both Ukraine and Russia throughout the ongoing crisis.
Last October, the kingdom pledged $400 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, demonstrating its close relationship with the country. The aid was intended to help alleviate the suffering of Ukrainian citizens affected by the crisis.
During his visit, Prince Faisal emphasized the importance of continuing discussions with all parties in order to find opportunities to settle the crisis. “We continue to discuss opportunities to settle the crisis with all parties,” he said on Sunday.
Following the meeting, both countries signed a memorandum of understanding worth $400 million, as reported by the Saudi Gazette. The memorandum covers a range of issues on the bilateral and regional agenda, and the two countries agreed to effectively streamline engagement of small and medium businesses from Ukraine and Saudi Arabia.
The visit of Prince Faisal to Kyiv highlights the importance of maintaining strong diplomatic relationships between Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and Russia. The kingdom’s continued support for Ukraine during this challenging time is an indication of its commitment to promoting stability and peace in the region.
Saudi Arabia has played a key role in negotiating prisoner exchanges during the conflict, helping secure the release of a number of prisoners in September.
The official Saudi Press Agency said at the time that “mediation efforts led to the release of ten prisoners of war, who are Moroccan, US, UK, Swedish and Croatian nationals, who are being released as part of an exchange of POWs between Russia and Ukraine.”
Last week, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, to discuss the crisis in Ukraine and issues pertaining to Opec, SPA said.
