Zelensky speaks at Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia

The international tour of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky continues. Yesterday, after visiting Europe, he arrived in Saudi Arabia. In addition, it is expected that Zelensky may visit Japan for the G7 summit, but this is not yet certain.

The President of Ukraine addressed the participants of the Arab League summit.

"Russia is weak. We defeat her even when she has more weapons. Its aggressiveness comes not from strength, but from the realization that the time of empires has passed. This is because the time of free independent nations will never pass.. And Ukraine proves it," Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed in his address to the summit participants.

The President called on the summit participants to cooperate with Ukraine without any intermediaries. He recalled that Saudi Arabia helped Ukraine to free the people captured by the Russians, and asked the League of Arab States to "expand this experience." Zelensky also demanded help in protecting the Ukrainian people, in particular the Ukrainian Muslim community and the Crimean Tatars, from full-scale Russian aggression.

Together with Zelensky, the leader of the Crimean Tatar people Mustafa Dzhemilev arrived in Saudi Arabia. The president met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud and plans to hold other bilateral talks.

"Our priorities are the return of all political prisoners of Crimea and the temporarily occupied territories, the return of all prisoners and illegally deported people, the presentation of our peace formula, in the implementation of which it is necessary to involve as many states as possible, ensuring energy security next winter," the head of state said about the trip. And he added that another priority is the protection of the Muslim community of Ukraine.

Reuters, citing Ukrainian and Western sources, wrote that Zelensky will personally attend the G7 summit in Japan.. According to the publication’s interlocutors familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, the Ukrainian president will take part in the summit on the last day of its holding, on Sunday, May 21. Zelensky is expected to arrive in Japan on the evening of May 20. The White House declined to comment.

Reuters noted that the presence of the Ukrainian president and his calls for more support for Kiev in the fight against the Russian Federation "will add additional spiciness to discussions" as leaders of the world's rich democracies seek to take steps to circumvent Russia's sanctions.