Jeddah, Saudi Arabia-Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he landed Friday in Saudi Arabia, host of an Arab League summit attended by long isolated Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a close Russian ally.
The previously unannounced visit is Zelensky’s first to the Middle East since Moscow’s invasion in February 2022, giving the Ukrainian leader an opportunity to address leaders in the region that has been far less united in its support of Kyiv than staunch Western allies.
“Arrived in Saudi Arabia. I will speak at the Arab League summit,” Zelensky said on Twitter, adding he plans to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other leaders.
He arrived in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah one day after Assad, whose government is being readmitted to the Arab League after its suspension in 2011 over the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators that led to civil war. The summit in Saudi Arabia comes at a time when the world’s biggest oil exporter is flexing its diplomatic muscle across the Middle East and beyond. An Arab League official told AFP Zelenky’s invitation came from Saudi Arabia, not the bloc. Saudi officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.