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JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Saudi Arabia on Friday to join a summit of Arab leaders, including the heads of wealthy Gulf states that have provided major aid to Ukraine.
Zelensky said he has landed in Saudi Arabia and will meet with the kingdom’s leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and others. They wrote on Twitter that the trip was aimed “to improve bilateral relations and relations of Ukraine with the Arab world.”
Saudi Arabia invited Mr. Zelensky to attend the Arab League summit in the Saudi city of Jeddah. Mr Zelensky is also expected to attend the Group of 7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, this weekend, virtually or in person, as he tries to win a commitment for continued arms and aid from the world’s richest democracy.
Key countries in the Arab world have been walking between Ukraine and Russia during the war. Oil-rich Saudi Arabia, in particular, has tried to position itself as a mediator and does not want to be seen as a party.
Saudi Arabia pledged $400 million in aid to Ukraine earlier this year. The United Arab Emirates, which maintains close ties with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, has also pledged more than $100 million in aid to Ukraine.
The main focus of the United States and the West has been trying to stop Russia from acquiring new weapons supplies. U.S. and NATO officials have clamped down on Russian domestic manufacturing with sanctions and export controls, and put diplomatic pressure on countries to reject Russian arms demands.
Washington seems to be having success in this regard with Egypt, another key player in the Arab world.
As U.S. officials quietly pressured Cairo to supply artillery shells to Ukraine, U.S. intelligence agencies gathered information, first reported by The Washington Post, that Egyptian officials may be supplying weapons to Russia.
After a diplomatic push by the United States and Britain, the Egyptians appeared to support America. According to subsequent intelligence reports, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt rejected the idea of providing the Russian side.
US officials said a production contract had been agreed with an Egyptian state arms manufacturer to produce artillery shells for the United States and an American contractor, which would be shipped to Ukraine.
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