Saudi Arabia announces $400 million humanitarian aid for Ukraine

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia 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 laid forth "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.

Just last month, Saudi Arabia played an unexpected role in facilitating a prisoner-of-war swap between Moscow and Kyiv.

The conflict in Ukraine has, however, fuelled tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United States, after the Kingdom largely resisted pressure to ramp up oil production, so as to ease the energy crisis that could result from the conflict.

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