Saudi Arabia clarifies position on violence in Ukraine

The kingdom claimed to uphold “positive neutrality”.

According to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Riyadh and other Arab nations are maintaining an unbiased stance in the dispute between Ukraine and Russia and wish to keep good relations with all sides. Vladimir Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, attended the Friday Arab League summit in Jeddah. He made his speech following the conference’s completion.

The diplomat said, “We welcome hearing the viewpoints of both sides of [the] Russia-Ukrainian conflict. Since the beginning of the crisis, the Arab countries have taken a position of positive neutrality, opening dialogue with the Russian and Ukrainian parties, while ensuring Arab relations with the two sides.

Without naming any specific countries, the Ukrainian leader asserted that some Arab countries were “turning a blind eye” to Moscow’s “illegal annexations” of territory.

Saudi Arabia has declined to support the sanctions imposed by the West against Moscow, including the efforts to limit its oil exports. The United States has criticized Riyadh for continuing its cooperation with Russia through OPEC+, a cartel of oil exporters.

With a commitment to continue its trade and diplomatic relations with both Russia and Ukraine, Riyadh has expressed the hope that it can mediate a settlement to the conflict.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia mentioned “the kingdom’s readiness to continue mediating efforts between Russia and Ukraine” after meeting Zelensky earlier on Friday. According to him, he will “support all international efforts aimed at resolving the crisis politically in a way that contributes to achieving security.”

In 2022, the Saudi foreign minister traveled to Kiev and Moscow for high-level negotiations. Later, it was revealed that bin Salman participated in the negotiations in September for a prisoner swap between the two sides, which he referred to as a “humanitarian breakthrough.”