Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Saudi Arabia on March 26 for an unannounced visit and is expected to sign a security cooperation agreement with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to AFP, citing a senior official. The reported deal is said to include cooperation on protecting airspace, though no further details were released. Reports Dw.com.
In a message posted on Telegram, Zelensky said important meetings were scheduled during the visit and thanked partners ready to work with Ukraine on security issues. He did not specify which officials he would meet or what documents might be signed during the trip.
The visit comes as Kyiv increases its security contacts in the Middle East. Earlier this month, Zelensky said Ukraine had already sent teams to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, while another group was heading to Kuwait. He said 201 Ukrainian military experts were already in the region and 34 more were ready for deployment.
Ukraine has offered assistance against Iranian-made Shahed drones, which have been used both in the war in Ukraine and in attacks across the Middle East. Zelensky said the deployment of specialists followed requests from Ukraine’s partners, including Washington. US President Donald Trump, however, previously said the United States did not need Ukrainian help in drone defense.
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