Ukraine eyes support from Saudi Arabia after minister’s visit

Ukrainian authorities see signs of support from Saudi Arabia after the kingdom’s foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, visited Kyiv on Sunday for talks with top officials.

Prince Faisal was the highest-ranking Saudi official to visit Ukraine in 30 years. He met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, his chief of staff Andriy Yermak, his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba and others.

The officials signed agreements stipulating how some $410 million in humanitarian aid the Saudi government authorized for Ukraine back in October will be spent, the prince told reporters.

The meeting, which wasn’t announced in advance, may have been an attempt to show balance by the OPEC member, which has been criticized for appearing to support Moscow in the year-old war.

Sunday’s visit was also the first to Ukraine by a high-ranking official from an Arab country since Vladimir Putin’s invasion began in February 2022.

“We treat it as an important evidence of support of our state, especially in these days, amid the one-year mark of the Russian Federation’s full-scale aggression,” Yermak said. “This dialogue and this meeting is very important for us.”

Yermak said Ukraine’s officials discussed with Prince Faisal respect for the rules of international law and the United Nations statute. “Our stance on this is unified,” he said.

Saudi Arabia was one of 141 countries that voted last week in favor of a non-binding United Nations resolution calling for Moscow’s withdrawal from Ukraine.

The parties also talked about a wide range of other issues, ranging from Saudi Arabia’s prior help in setting up prisoner swaps with Russia and prospects for additional exchanges, to strengthening both Kyiv’s and Riyadh’s positions in the global south, including Africa.

Ukraine hopes that the government in Riyadh will support at least some items in the peace plan laid out by Zelenskyy in November, Yermak said.

With assistance from Fahad Abuljadayel.