Saudi Arabia announces $400 million humanitarian aid for Ukraine

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia on Saturday announced $400 million in humanitarian aid for Ukraine, the official SPA news agency said, adding that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had made a phone call to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The prince emphasized "the Kingdom's position of supporting everything that will contribute to de-escalation, and the Kingdom's readiness to continue the efforts of mediation," SPA reported.

During the call, the president said he thanked the crown prince and Saudi prime minister for the Kingdom's position in support of Ukraine's territorial sovereignty.

Saudi Arabia recently voted in favor of a UN resolution not to recognize the Kremlin's claim over four Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia during the eight-month-long conflict.

Zelensky also said that he and Prince Mohammed agreed to continue communication in order to release more prisoners of war.

Last month, the crown prince mediated the release of ten prisoners from various countries as part of a prisoner exchange process between Russia and Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president also said he and the crown prince agreed on the provision of macro-financial aid from Saudi Arabia to Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine has, however, fuelled tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United States after the kingdom largely resisted pressure to ramp up oil production to ease the energy crisis resulting from the conflict.

The kingdom has come under growing criticism from Washington after the Saudi-led OPEC group of oil exporters agreed on a drastic production cut with Russia and other allies, which could send energy prices soaring even higher.

Washington has accused OPEC+ of aligning itself with Moscow, and on Wednesday, President Joe Biden threatened "consequences" for Saudi Arabia.