Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Pledges $400 M In Humanitarian Aid To War-Stricken Ukraine

Saudi Arabia reportedly agreed to provide Ukraine with $400 million in humanitarian aid during Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan's visit to the war-stricken country earlier this week.

Faisal inked the agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his residence in Kyiv.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday that Prince Faisal also signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine as part of the aid package, which involved a $300-million pledge by the Saudi Fund for Development to bankroll Ukraine's oil derivatives, Al Monitor reported. The aid package also included a $100-million joint cooperation program, in which Saudi Arabia will provide financial assistance to the war-torn country to facilitate its post-war recovery.

During the visit, Faisal also met with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukrainian president's office. The visit marked the first official trip by a top Saudi diplomat to Ukraine in more than three decades, since the country's independence in 1991.

The objective of the visit was to call for a political resolution to the ongoing war with Russia, and to discuss opportunities to strengthen Saudi Arabia and Ukraine's bilateral cooperation in a variety of fields. Faisal and Zelenskyy also took the opportunity to assess regional and international developments that concern both countries, as well as how Saudi Arabia can help alleviate the adverse impact of the war on Ukraine's economy and its people.

At a press conference held on the same day, Faisal emphasized the need to resolve the Russia and Ukraine war through political means and in keeping with international laws. He also emphasized the need for countries to provide aid to Ukraine as it reels from the effects of the war.

"To reach a peaceful solution to this war, we, Saudi Arabia, have a firm belief that any end to the war must be through dialogue, and it must be done on the negotiating table and following international law, in line with the United Nations, and in respect to the sovereignty of states," he said. "We will continue to work with all parties to search for opportunities to reach this settlement," he added.