Saudi Arabia’s King Mohammed bin Salman has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to attend an Arab summit in the kingdom as a guest of honour, diplomatic sources in Riyadh said.
The summit will hold in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah on Friday.
Sources said this would be an opportunity for Saudi Crown Prince Salman to discuss with Zelensky ways to reach an end to the war in Ukraine, through finding common ground that would lead to starting negotiations between Moscow and Kiev.
Saudi Arabia had repeatedly offered to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.
In 2022, Riyadh said it mediated between Russia and Ukraine for the release of 10 prisoners from different countries.
The kingdom, and its Gulf neighbours, had maintained relations with Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began last year resisting Western pressure.
Friday’s summit would also be the first since Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League, more than a decade after its membership was suspended amid its civil war.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had also been invited to the summit.
In the West, talks with the Syrian ruler were still off the table, after the EU and others imposed extensive sanctions 12 years ago in response to al-Assad’s violent crackdown on anti-government protests that later resulted in the civil war.
The summit also came after oil-wealthy Saudi Arabia and its regional rival, Iran, agreed to restore ties in March.
