Published on: 09/23/2022 – 22:09
A major prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia took place this week. Turkey played a role in this operation, as did Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In addition, the Saudi kingdom has taken on the repatriation of foreigners who fought in Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin and Mohammed bin Salman spoke on the phone Thursday night, and the Kremlin statement mentions the crown prince’s “personal mediation”.Saudi Arabia in the foreign prisoner exchange this week.
In exchange for 55 Russian fighters, 215 men were released to Ukraine, including five British, two American, one Moroccan, one Swede and one Croat. They were all captured while fighting the Russian army in Ukraine. Several of them were sentenced to death by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Being a mediator corresponds to the balance that Riyadh has wanted to show since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. For Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, it’s a new opportunity to buff his image, a period boycotted by Western leaders following the assassination Dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Visits to him are proof of this today, MBS can again be visited from Washington, London or Paris.
But there are gray areas around this prisoner exchange mediated by Saudi mediation. What was the role of The Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich Who was on the plane that took the freed foreign fighters to Saudi Arabia? The former owner of English football club Chelsea is on the list of Russian oligarchs sanctioned by the European Union and the UK.
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