BBC News:
Volodymyr Zelensky has accused some Arab leaders of “turning a blind eye” to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, ahead of his trip to the G7 in Japan.
The Ukrainian president made the comments while attending an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia on Friday.
Of the Arab League nations, only Syria has openly supported Russia’s invasion. Others have sought to maintain good relations with Moscow.
But some states must reflect on their ties with Russia, Mr Zelensky said.
“Unfortunately, there are some in the world and here among you who turn a blind eye to those [prisoner of war] cages and illegal annexations,” said Mr Zelensky.
“I’m here so that everyone can take an honest look, no matter how hard the Russians try to influence, there must still be independence.”
Mr Zelensky also told the assembled leaders in Jeddah that his country was defending itself from colonisers and imperialists, appearing to invoke the Arab world’s own history of invasion and occupation.
Host nation Saudi Arabia has walked a delicate line on the conflict – on the one hand supporting a UN resolution calling for Russia to withdraw its troops and pledging $400m in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, while on the other hand resisting imposing sanctions on Russia, preferring to see itself as neutral on the conflict.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman renewed his offer for Saudi Arabia to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv to end the fighting at the summit.
Syria meanwhile has only just been readmitted to the Arab League – its leader Bashar al-Assad told the summit there was an historic opportunity for the region to reshape itself without foreign interference.
Mr Zelensky also took aim at Iran, which is not a member of the Arab League, for supplying Shahed drones to Russia. Iran denies supplying drones for the conflict.
The Ukrainian leader will travel from Saudi Arabia to the G7 summit on Sunday, Japan confirmed on Saturday morning. Officials said he will take part in the summit’s leaders’ session and take part in a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Earlier, Mr Zelensky’s office also told Ukrainian media that he would meet with US President Joe Biden “in the next few days” in Japan.
The summit kicked off on Friday with a renewed condemnation of Russia and an announcement of further sanctions.
The group of seven nations, made up of the US, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Canada and Japan, represent the world’s richest democracies. This year, eight other countries including Australia and India have also been invited.
The trip to Japan will be the furthest Mr Zelensky has travelled from Kyiv since the war began in February 2022.
In the past few days Mr Zelensky has visited Italy, Germany, France and the UK, where he nailed down promises of military support. He also continues to push allies to provide advanced fighter jets to Ukraine, but so far no country has committed to directly providing them.
Once he reaches Hiroshima he will probably try to persuade more cautious leaders to provide aid, such as Mr Kishida and Indian leader Narendra Modi.
“By showing up in person, it is a chance for him to ensure he does not come away empty-handed, and that he will head back to Kyiv his arms full with the weapons deals that he wants”, including a promise of lethal weapons from Japan, said John Kirton, director of the G7 Research Group think tank.
Though Japan has been hugely sympathetic to Ukraine, its strict military laws have meant that so far it has only given non-lethal defence equipment.
