Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on Friday called on countries participating in the Arab League summit to support his peace initiative to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. He asked the leaders to work directly with Kyiv, without intermediaries, News.ro reports with reference to Reuters.

“I invite all of you who respect peace to join the implementation of the peace formula and thus reduce enmity, wars, suffering and evil,” Zelenskyy said in a speech in English.

“Russia is weak, we defeated it when it had more weapons in its hands. Its aggressiveness does not come from strength, but from a lack of understanding that the time of empires has passed,” Zelensky said.

“Today marks 450 days of full-scale war against us by the Russian invaders. We don’t have missiles like our enemy. We have less air power. We do not have the numerous killer drones that Iran supplies to Russia. We don’t have that much artillery. But we stay strong because we have the truth on our side. Moreover, we are ousting the occupiers from our country,” Zelenskyy told the Arab leaders, according to the text of the speech published on the website of the Presidency of Ukraine.

Zelensky noted that a good example of how the Ukrainian peace formula can benefit others was the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allowed Ukraine, a major grain exporter, to continue deliveries, including to Arab League countries.

In addition to food security, Zelenskyi’s peace plan includes a condition for Russia to withdraw all its troops from the territory of Ukraine, calls for the release of all Ukrainian prisoners of war, and is aimed at restoring “radiation safety” at the Russian-occupied nuclear power plant in Zaporozhye.

Zelensky thanked Saudi Arabia for helping to free some prisoners of war and called for measures to protect Ukraine’s Muslim community — referring to the Crimean Tatars, a peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. “Even if there are people here at the summit who see the war on our territory in a different way, I am sure that we can all unite in rescuing people from Russian prison cells,” Zelensky said in the presence of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a friend Russia and Iran. , who returned to the Arab community on Friday after 11 years of isolation.

“For centuries, the Crimean Tatars have been and must remain an integral and powerful part of the world Muslim community. But Crimea was the first to suffer from the Russian occupation, and to this day it is the most repressed in the world. occupied Crimea is Muslims,” ​​Zelensky told the Arab leaders.

“Unfortunately, there are some in the world and here among you who turn a blind eye to these cages and illegal annexations. I am here so that everyone can look honestly. No matter how much the Russians try to influence, there must still be independence, Zelensky told the Arab leaders.

Saudi Arabia is ready to mediate

In turn, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman said at the summit that his kingdom is ready to mediate between Russia and Ukraine. “We reaffirm the Kingdom’s readiness to continue mediation efforts between Russia and Ukraine and support all international efforts for a political settlement of the crisis in a way that contributes to achieving security,” the Saudi crown prince said in his opening speech.

Zelensky, who is also due to attend the G7 summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima this weekend, thanked Saudi Arabia for past help and said each delegate would receive the text of his 10-point peace plan.

Gulf states have tried to remain neutral in the conflict with Ukraine, despite Western pressure on Gulf oil producers to help isolate Russia, which is a member of OPEC+.

In his speech at the summit, Zelensky noted that some countries, including members of the League of Arab States, prefer to “close their eyes” to Russia’s illegal annexation of the territory of Ukraine and the imprisonment of some Ukrainians during the 15-month war. “I’m sure we can all come together to save people from Russian prison cells,” he said.

Last year, through a real diplomatic coup, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman secured the release of 10 foreign citizens captured by Russia in Ukraine. This move was apparently made possible by his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia plays a significant role and we are ready to take our cooperation to a new level,” Zelensky tweeted shortly after arriving in Jeddah on Friday.

At a time when Russia’s war in Ukraine has roiled global energy markets, the kingdom’s role as the world’s largest oil exporter has grown for both Washington and Moscow.

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