Saudi security moves after “contrary to morals” video … and got angry after a clip of a young man’s assault on a girl

newspaper revealedThe Wall Street newspaperMore comprehensive details on the role played by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and ultimately led to the conclusion of a prisoner swap agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

And Bloomberg said on Friday that Abramovich met Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh late last month as part of talks leading up to the swap deal, according to three people familiar with the matter. who refused to provide further details and asked not to be named because the case was confidential.

During the operation, which took place on Wednesday, Ukraine released 55 prisoners of war, including pro-Kremlin businessman Viktor Medvedchuk.

In return, Russia released more than 215 prisoners, most of whom participated in the defense of the Ukrainian Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Five British and two American citizens and three other foreigners were also released.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a senior Ukrainian official played a major role in completing the deal, which required months of negotiations with the Saudi-Turkish mediation, according to US, Ukrainian and Saudi officials and others familiar with the negotiations. .

Saudi officials and others familiar with the matter said Abramovich personally escorted 10 prisoners, including British and American detainees, on a private plane that took them to Riyadh earlier this week.

The daily stressed that Saudi Arabia’s intervention represents the most surprising aspect of the exchange, also mediated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The newspaper adds that until the announcement of this exchange agreement, Saudi Arabia has not played any leading role or diplomatic efforts related to the Russian-Ukrainian war, despite the relations developed in recent years between Mohammed bin Salman and Russia. .

“Our goal was to save people and we needed a strong and independent state with influence over our northern neighbor,” said Ukrainian negotiator who participated in the prisoner exchange, Rustam Omirov.

The newspaper notes that engaging in conflict-related diplomatic efforts does not mean that Mohammed bin Salman has withdrawn from his support for Russia.

People familiar with the Saudi government’s thinking say it has instead used the talks to rehabilitate its international image, according to the newspaper.

Per Abramovich, the former owner of the English football club Chelsea, has served as a link between Russia and Ukraine since the early days of the war, appearing during peace negotiations in Istanbul and helping to negotiate an agreement to export Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea last July, according to officials and others familiar with the conversations.

Omirov says Abramovich also played a pivotal role in prisoner exchange negotiations.

“He (Abramovich) facilitated all matters relating to the exchange of prisoners of war with Russian officials, including various agencies and ministries, and contributed to the efforts to release them,” notes Omerov, who is the special envoy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr. Zelensky.

Saudi Arabia’s role in the prisoner exchange process is a result of contact between Ukrainian and Saudi officials in March of this year, according to Saudi and American officials.

Officials said Omerov traveled to Saudi Arabia in March and met with Saudi officials, including the kingdom’s foreign minister.

At the time, Mohammed bin Salman saw the talks as an opportunity to assert his influence on the world stage and reduce the role of rival countries, such as Qatar, which may have played the role of mediator in the conflict, Saudi officials said. .

During the war, Turkey, long adversary of Saudi Arabia, was a key mediator in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, hosting two rounds of peace negotiations and helping to broker the wheat deal signed in Istanbul in July.

Turkey also attempted unsuccessfully to negotiate the evacuation of fighters from Mariupol during the Russian blockade of the Azovstal steel plant in April and May, according to the newspaper.

He added that Saudi and Russian officials kept in touch in the following months to negotiate a possible deal. Saudi and US officials said Mohammed bin Salman was personally involved in the negotiations.

People familiar with the negotiations said Abramovich played a secondary channel role for Russia, drawing on his personal relationship with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Saudi Crown Prince.

Abramovich visited Saudi Arabia in August and met the crown prince. As the talks became more serious, a US official said, Omerov discussed the prisoner swap with the crown prince in Riyadh.

Saudi and US officials said Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Saud al-Sati, a former ambassador to Russia, also played a key role in the talks and accompanied the detainees released on the plane.

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