KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has attended an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia to seek support for his country in the face of Russia’s invasion, as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman expressed his readiness to mediate in the war between Moscow and Kyiv.
Speaking at the event on Friday, Zelenskyy, in his trademark green military-inspired outfit, told the audience that he hoped “most of us are here for the sake of peace and justice”. “We do not have missiles as our enemy has. We have less air power; we do not possess numerous killer drones that Iran supplies to Russia. We do not have that much artillery, but we do stay strong because we do have truth on our side,” he said.
Zelenskyy then added that he wanted to leave “a noble call to all of you to help protect our people, including [the] Ukrainian Muslim community”. Mustafa Dzhemilev, the leader of the Crimean Tatar community, a Turkic group of Sunni Muslims indigenous to the Crimean Peninsula, was also in attendance.
Zelenskyy also highlighted the importance of Ukraine’s economic and educational ties with the Arab world. The Ukrainian president has visited a number of countries since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country on February 204, 2022.’
However, his visits have been largely confined to staunch allies, including several European Union states, the United Kingdom and the United States. –Agencies
