JIDDA, May 19 Vladimir Zelensky was invited to the League summit Arab States due to the fact that Arab leaders seek to resolve the Ukrainian crisis and have relations with Moscow and Kiev, said Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.
Summit of the League of Arab States, in which the President of Syria Bashar al-Assad took part for the first time in many years, was held on Friday in Saudi Jeddah.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Jeddah on Friday, where he delivered a speech at the Arab League summit.
«We invited President Zelensky to hear the views of all sides. The Arab countries have taken a neutral side since the beginning of this crisis. We have sought to open a dialogue with the two sides, hoping that we will reach a way, to resolve the conflict,» the head of the Saudi Foreign Ministry said.
According to him, all Arab countries are convinced that this crisis in Ukraine will be resolved only through a dialogue between the main participants in the conflict, and therefore it is necessary to listen to all parties. He also noted that Saudi Arabia is committed to relations with both Russia and Ukraine.
«The Ukrainian President was given the opportunity to address the Arab League, he sought to be present so that the Arabs would listen to him, and we sought to listen to him, just as we strive to listen to all parties, without this we will not be able to make an effective contribution to finding a solution,» — noted bin Farhan.
The Arab League in 2022 created a contact group, which included the foreign ministers of Egypt, Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, as well as the secretary general of the regional organization. The ministers visited Moscow and Kyiv.
Earlier, Arab diplomats have repeatedly declared the neutrality of the countries of the region in relation to the crisis in Ukraine. In particular, in the final statement of the Arab League summit held in Algiers in November 2022, the leaders of the Arab world declared their commitment to the principle of neutrality and a pan-Arab position on the conflict in Ukraine.