Zelensky is in Saudi Arabia for the Arab League summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Friday June 19 that he had arrived in Saudi Arabia for the Arab League summit to be held in the coastal city of Jeddah ahead of an expected trip to Japan for the G7 meeting.

“I will speak at the Arab League summit. I will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and hold other bilateral talks,” Zelensky said on his Telegram account.

This is his first visit to the region since the start of the Russian offensive on February 24, 2022.

a journey that is not insignificant

Mr Zelensky’s visit to Saudi Arabia is not insignificant as the kingdom, the world’s biggest exporter of crude, has recently strengthened its ties with China and its oil policy with Russia amid the Moscow-led war against Ukraine. coordinated.

Among his “priorities” facing the leaders of the Pan-Arab organization, the Ukrainian president specifically mentioned “the presentation of our peace formula, the implementation of which should involve as many states as possible” on Telegram.

“Another priority is the safety of Ukraine’s Muslim community” in Crimea annexed by Russia in 2014, he also supported in reference to the Crimean Tatars. “Crimea was the first to suffer from the Russian occupation, and most of the victims of repression in occupied Crimea are Muslims,” ​​he wrote.

Zelensky is expected to attend the G7 summit

Following his trip to Saudi Arabia, Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to appear in person at the G7 summit in Hiroshima (Japan), where leaders of major Western economies have already announced new sanctions to choke the Russian economy Is.

The Ukrainian president has just completed a tour of several European countries to demand more weapons and military equipment to support a major counteroffensive aimed at retaking territories held by Russia.

(with AFP)