Marathon of meetings

Flight mystery: What does Zelenskyi want from the Saudis?

(Bild: @ZelenskyyUa)

On Sunday afternoon, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sat down in his government plane. There was speculation that he had taken off for Saudi Arabia. However, the head of state announced on Platform X that he had arrived in the United Arab Emirates.

The journey departed from Rzeszów in Poland in an Airbus A-319 - according to diplomatic sources, Zelensky's visit had been planned for a long time. The head of state at least does not want to know anything about an invitation to possible peace negotiations.

He had arrived in the United Arab Emirates together with the First Lady. The top priority now is to "bring more of our people home from captivity", Selenskyj wrote on X on Sunday evening. "We will also focus on investments and economic partnerships as well as a large-scale humanitarian program," the Ukrainian explained.

According to the Russian media company RBK, the Ukrainian delegation is expected to hold "dozens of meetings" in the coming days to prepare for Zelensky's visit to Saudi Arabia. The purpose of the visit is an exchange of prisoners. On Friday, Zelensky announced trips to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Host for peace summit?
Saudi Arabia had declared its willingness to host peace negotiations to end the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. "The Kingdom welcomes the hosting of the summit in Saudi Arabia and reaffirms its ongoing efforts to achieve lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine," said a letter from the country's foreign ministry published on Platform X.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump held out the prospect of a personal meeting with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and named Saudi Arabia as a possible summit country to discuss an end to the war. There is still no concrete information on what negotiations would look like and when they could officially start.

Mediator between East and West
Saudi Arabia has so far tried to adopt as neutral a stance as possible in the war. The kingdom counts the USA among its most important allies, but also maintains good relations with Russia. Saudi Arabia has also offered to act as a mediator on several occasions. Russia has stated that it has very constructive cooperation with Saudi Arabia in many areas. In this respect, Riyadh is a good fit from the perspective of both countries.