Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in Jeddah on Friday to attend an Arab League summit, where Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, heavily backed by Russia in his country's civil war, will also be present now that his regional isolation ended.
Zelensky arrived on a French government plane. He is also due to attend the G7 leaders' summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima this weekend.
"Kingdom of Saudi Arabia plays a significant role and we are ready to take our cooperation to a new level," he tweeted shortly after arrival.
Beginning my first-ever visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to enhance bilateral relations and Ukraine’s ties with the Arab world. Political prisoners in Crimea and temporarily occupied territories, the return of our people, Peace Formula, energy cooperation. KSA plays a…
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 19, 2023
Saudi attempts to mediate in Ukraine-Russia War
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has mediated in the Ukraine-Russia war before.
Last year Prince Mohammed won a diplomatic triumph when he secured the release of 10 foreigners captured by Russia in Ukraine. The move was apparently made possible by his close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Gulf states have tried to remain neutral in the Ukraine conflict despite Western pressure on Gulf oil producers to help isolate Russia, a fellow OPEC+ member.
The kingdom faced heavy criticism from the United States over an OPEC+ decision to cut oil production, seen as helping Russia to refill its coffers by boosting prices.
Even though the October decision initially drew heavy criticism from the United States and other Western countries, market dynamics since then have shown the cuts to be prudent.
At a time when Russia's war on Ukraine has roiled global energy markets, the role the kingdom plays as the world's largest oil exporter has grown in importance to both Washington and Moscow.