Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky accused some Arab leaders on Friday of ignore the horrors of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, during a speech at an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia.
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“Unfortunately, there are some in the world and here among you who close their eyes” in the face of “illegal annexations,” Zelensky told summit attendees, urging them to “take an honest look” at the war.
Zelensky’s surprise trip to the pan-Arab summit, in the Saudi city of Jeddah, is his first visit to the Middle East since Russia launched the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
An Arab League official told AFP that the invitation came from the saudi governmentand not from the pan-Arab organization itself.
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Zelenski highlighted how the war in Ukraine has affected Muslims of the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014.
“Crimea was the first to suffer from the Russian occupation, and until now most of whom suffer repression in occupied Crimea are Muslims“, said.
Zelensky also thanked the heir to the Saudi throne, Prince Mohamed bin Salman, for supporting the “territorial integrity” of Ukraine.
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the ukrainian president flew to Saudi Arabia on a French government plane, from Poland, the French ambassador to the Wahhabi kingdom said on Twitter.
The reappearance of the Syrian president, Bashar al Asad
We are pleased to welcome President Bashar Al Assad to
this summit
The Arab rulers received the Syrian president on Friday Bashar al Asad, back in the Arab League at the summit this Friday.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomed Assad to his first visit to the region since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.
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“We are pleased to welcome President Bashar Al Assad to this summit,” the prince said, hoping that the reintegration of Syria brings “stability” to the country devastated by war.
bashar al #Assad attends the Arab League summit
After 12 years of suspension, #Syria returns to a meeting of the Arab bloc.
The country was isolated by most Arab states, due to the brutal crackdown on protests in 2011 and the ensuing civil war. /cmw pic.twitter.com/PRTuH4vuQb
— DW Spanish (@dw_espanol) May 19, 2023
Before the opening ceremony on Friday, Assad launched a series of bilateral meetings, including with the president of Tunisia and the vice president of the United Arab Emirates.
The Saudi Arabian summit coincides with an attempt by the country, the world’s largest oil exporter, to deploy its diplomatic influence in the Middle East and beyond its borders.
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Despite the return of Syria to the international stage, as well as the historic restoration of bilateral relations between this country and Saudi Arabia, not all countries in the region have shown their willingness to resume relations with Assad.
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Taste said this month that would not normalize relations with the Syrian government, but noted that this would not be “an obstacle” to reintegration into the Arab League.
AFP
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