Saudi Arabia signed agreements worth $400 million with Ukraine on Sunday after the kingdom’s foreign minister made a surprise visit to Kyiv, a move praised by Washington.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, his chief of staff Andriy Yermak, his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, and others. He was the highest-ranking Saudi official to visit Ukraine in 30 years.
The trip comes after Saudi Arabia was accused by the US of siding with Russia in its year-old invasion of Ukraine through its oil policy. Saudi Arabia steers the OPEC+ producers group with Moscow, and Washington has said its production cuts have been detrimental to the global economy. Saudi Arabia rejects this, saying its policy is aimed at balancing global oil markets and is not political. The rift soured US-Saudi relations last year but tensions have since eased.
