Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Farhan bin Faisal arrived in Kiev on Sunday to sign an agreement whereby Riyadh will deliver humanitarian aid and finance the purchase of petroleum derivatives to support Ukraine. “We hope this will help ease the suffering of Ukrainians during this humanitarian crisis,” Bin Faisal said.
According to the same Saudi minister, the total agreement amounts to $400 million dollars. In addition, after meeting with the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, Bin Faisal was in favor of ending the war under the auspices of the United Nations, and said that the talks with the president had been “very fruitful”, where in addition to cooperation, They talked about the problems derived from the conflict.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia wishes to do everything possible to reduce the severity of the hostilities. As you know, every war ends with dialogue and the negotiating table. But of course this must be done under the auspices of the United Nations and in compliance with international law,” Bin Faisal said. He added that Riyadh hopes that Zelensky’s peace proposal “will become the basis of a future agreement.”
“Thank you for supporting peace”
Zelensky, for his part, thanked the Saudi minister, the first from that country to visit Ukraine since the establishment of diplomatic relations, in April 1993. “Thank you for supporting peace in Ukraine, our sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is very important for us and for our society,” the Ukrainian president wrote via Telegram.
The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, explained that both countries agreed to deepen cooperation “in all key fields, including investment and energy”, in addition to discussing Saudi Arabia’s participation in the “grain initiative”. support for the peace formula and the fight against Iranian drone attacks.