As the Russian military operation enters its ninth day, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defense, received a phone call on Thursday from President Vladimir Putin. The call also addressed international crises, with the Saudi Crown Prince emphasizing the Kingdom's declared position regarding the Ukraine crisis and its support for efforts leading to a political solution that ends the conflict and achieves security and stability. He confirmed that the Kingdom is prepared to make efforts to mediate between all parties.
Regarding energy markets, Prince Mohammed bin Salman renewed the Kingdom's commitment to maintaining the balance and stability of oil markets, highlighting the role of the OPEC+ agreement and the importance of preserving it.
**Talks Between the Parties to the Crisis**
This call came amid ongoing battles between Russian and Ukrainian forces for the eighth consecutive day. A senior Ukrainian official announced that Kyiv and Moscow agreed on Thursday to establish humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians in the second round of talks since the start of the Russian military operation last week. The talks between the delegations, being held in the area of Polivska Boshcha in Brest, near the Belarusian border close to Poland, are continuing since they began last Monday. The first meeting between the two parties took place on February 28 and ended without significant progress, leading to an agreement to hold a second meeting that concluded on Thursday, with a third scheduled for early next week.
**International Tension and Sanctions**
It is worth noting that the Russian military operation began on February 24, 2022, following Moscow's recognition of the independence of the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, after months of escalating tensions between the Kremlin and the West. This prompted the European Union and the United States, along with the UK, Australia, Canada, Japan, and others, to impose severe and painful sanctions on Russia, as well as leading to a flow of Western weapons and military support to Kyiv to confront the Russian attack.
