Ten prisoners of war from countries such as the United States and Great Britain were transferred to Saudi Arabia as part of an exchange between Russia and Ukraine, the Gulf state said on Wednesday.
The group consists of five British nationals, two Americans and one each from Morocco, Sweden and Croatia, according to a Saudi official briefed on the operation.
The Saudi statement said they entered the kingdom from Russia and that the Saudi authorities are “facilitating procedures for their safe return to their respective countries.”
British Prime Minister Liz Truss said on Twitter that Brits’ release was “extremely welcome news… ending months of uncertainty and suffering for them and their families”.
Truss said they were “held by Russian-backed proxies in eastern Ukraine” and thanked both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Saudi Arabia for their help in the liberation.
MP Robert Jenrick identified on Twitter one of the British prisoners as “my constituent” Aiden Aslin, who was sentenced to death in June after being captured by pro-Russian separatists.
Jenrick said the British prisoners were “on their way back to Britain” and that Aslin’s family could “finally find peace”.
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde tweeted that the Swedish citizen being held in Donetsk “has now been exchanged and is doing well”. She also thanked Ukraine and Saudi Arabia.
The move comes after efforts by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, “in a continuation of (his) commitment to the humanitarian initiatives against the Russian-Ukrainian crisis,” the Saudi statement said.
– war tensions –
The war in Ukraine has fueled tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United States, which has been a key ally for decades.
Saudi Arabia has voted for an early United Nations resolution to denounce the invasion of Russia and demand that Moscow withdraw its troops.
However, the kingdom has largely resisted US pressure to increase oil production to ease the energy crisis resulting from the war – a campaign that included a visit by US President Joe Biden in July.
Instead, Riyadh has coordinated with the OPEC+ oil cartel, which it runs jointly with Russia.
Less than a week after Biden left the kingdom, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prince Mohammed spoke by phone and “stressed the importance of increased cooperation in OPEC+,” the Kremlin said in a statement at the time.
The two leaders hailed their cooperation to date, saying it has made it possible “to maintain the necessary balance and stability in the global energy market,” it said.
Earlier this month, the bloc agreed to cut crude oil production for the first time in more than a year in a bid to lift prices, which have fallen on recession fears.
Wednesday’s statement did not specify when the prisoners of war would be returned to their home countries.
On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told US television that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to swap 200 prisoners in one of the biggest swaps of the seven-month war.
Erdogan did not provide full details of the swap, calling the people being swapped “hostages” and not saying how many there were from each side.
Also on Tuesday, Prince Mohammed met with a special envoy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Saudi state media reported.
During the meeting, Prince Mohammed “reiterated the Kingdom’s determination and support for all international efforts aimed at finding a political solution to the crisis and its continued efforts to help alleviate the resulting humanitarian impact”.
