Saudi Arabia signed agreements worth $400 million with Ukraine on Sunday after the kingdom’s foreign minister made a surprise visit to Kyiv.
(Bloomberg) —
Saudi Arabia signed agreements worth $400 million with Ukraine on Sunday after the kingdom’s foreign minister made a surprise visit to Kyiv.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan was the highest-ranking Saudi official to visit Ukraine in 30 years. He met President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, his chief of staff Andriy Yermak, his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, and others.
The agreements stipulated how some $410 million in humanitarian aid the Saudi government authorized for Ukraine back in October will be spent, the prince told reporters.
As part of those, Saudi Arabia said it will finance $300 million worth of oil products for Ukraine as a grant.
The visit may have been an attempt to show balance by the OPEC member, which has been criticized by the US for appearing to support Moscow in the year-old war through its oil policy. Saudi Arabia rejects this.
Saudi Arabia Says US Ties are Solid as It Defends Oil Policy
Sunday’s trip 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 Saudi Arabia’s prior help 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 Riyadh will support at least some items in the peace plan laid out by Zelenskiy in November, Yermak said.
–With assistance from Fahad Abuljadayel.
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