Saudi Arabia Faces Heat From Washington DC, Offers $400 Million To Ukraine

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince has announced $400 million humanitarian aid to Ukraine amid the ongoing war.

Riyadh's announcement came after a call between Ukraine's President  Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to reports by the SPA news agency.

The Crown Prince mentioned that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will support "everything that will contribute to de-escalation, and the Kingdom's readiness to continue the efforts of mediation,” as per reports. 

The Ukrainian President divulged that the two leaders agreed to collaborate to work for the release of 10 POWs (prisoner of war). Two out of these ten prisoners of war are American citizens, as per reports from Al Arabiya.

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia's crown prince. In a tweet, he congratulated the Saudi Crown Prince on being named the Kingdom's Prime Minister last month.

Saudi Arabia also voted for the United Nations General Assembly Resolution that called Russia's annexation of four Ukrainian provinces illegal. 

The Crown Prince reportedly said that Saudi Arabia's support for the United Nations General Assembly resolution emanates from Saudi Arabia's deep rooted commitment to the principle of national sovereignty.

Saudi Arabia's representative to the United Nations Abdulaziz Alwasil said that Riyadh's vote was in line with its position of "upholding principles enshrined in the United Nations charter".  

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia, along with 142 other United Nations members, voted in favour of a United Nations General Assembly resolution which called Russia's annexation illegal.

35 nations, including India and China, abstained from voting. Only four nations other than Russia opposed the resolution.

Saudi Arabia was recently criticised by US President Joe Biden for cutting down oil output which resulted in a spike of gas prices in the US, ahead of crucial mid-term election, as per reports by the Financial Times.

The US Congressman from California, Ro Khanna, slammed Riyadh and argued that Washington should suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia, according to reports by Politico.