Mohamed bin Salman offers himself to Zelensky to mediate in the footsteps of Xi Jinping and the Pope

Look for a negotiated exit Putting an end to the war in Ukraine has become one of the great obsessions of the international community. Already in the early stages of the conflict Names of possible arbitrators began to be mentioned, such as that of the then Prime Minister of Israel, Naftali Bennettwhich tried, briefly and unsuccessfully, to bring positions closer between the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the Ukrainian, Volodímir Zelenski.

Then, in October, Türkiye helped unlock the export of the cereal Ukrainian and Turkish leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was projected as a potential intermediary. However, in recent months the offers to be the interlocutor between both parties have multiplied. The last to apply was the crown prince to the Saudi throne, Mohammed bin Salmanpopularly known as MBS.

“The (Saudi) Kingdom is ready to conduct mediation efforts between Russia and Ukraine and support international efforts to solve the crisis politically and help to achieve peace and security”, said the also Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia during his opening speech at the arab league summit. The event, which started on Friday, has been marked by the return of the Syrian dictator, Bashar al Assadafter 12 years of isolation due to the outbreak of the civil war in his country.

[Zelenski juega al despiste: aterriza en Arabia Saudí y su equipo desmiente que vaya a ir a Japón]

The Syrian leader, however, has not been the only unexpected attendee. And it is that he Zelensky landed by surprise in the Saudi city of Jeddah to meet with MBS and participate as “Honor guest” at the annual meeting of the heads of state of this Arab organization that has coincided with the G7 summit that is being held this weekend in Hiroshima, Japan. During his speech at the forum, the Ukrainian leader demanded independence in the position of the Arab countries regarding the Russian invasion, since many remain equidistant.

“Unfortunately, there are some in the world and here among you who turn a blind eye to these illegal annexations, and I am here so that everyone can look honestly. No matter how much the Russians try to influence, there must still be independence,” he claimed. Zelensky.

The other mediators

Faced with these requests, MBS has taken the opportunity to reiterate “enthusiasm and support” of his country to attempts to “politically resolve the Ukrainian-Russian crisis. This is not, however, the first approach of the Saudi prince to the conflict. Already in September he intervened in a large exchange of prisoners of war that Russia and Ukraine carried out and that allowed the release of 205 Ukrainian citizens and 55 Russian soldiers. Then, MBS obtained the release of ten prisoners of war foreigners under Russian control.

[China abre una vía para la paz: se postula como mediador entre Rusia y Ucrania con sus 12 puntos]

The MBS proposal comes shortly after the daily The Rest of the Pug have advanced that Pope Francis plans to send two emissaries to kyiv and Moscow in an attempt to stop the conflict. specifically the cardinal Matteo Zuppi could be in charge of going to the Ukrainian capital, while Archbishop Claudio Gugerottiprefect of the department for the Eastern Churches, would travel to the Russian capital, according to several Italian media.

Previously, the president of China, Xi Jinping, already tried to become the great mediator between Russia and Ukraine. In February, after maintaining an ambiguous position throughout the conflict, the Asian giant presented a proposal based on twelve points to find “a political solution to the crisis”. As soon as this roadmap was published, the United States, NATO and the European Union showed their skepticism about an initiative that they see leaning towards the Kremlin. Despite this, both kyiv and Moscow have shown themselves willing to assess the proposal.