During Zelensky's Speech, Assad Removed His Headphones

The Syrian delegation, led by President Bashar al-Assad, ostentatiously did not listen to the speech of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky at the Arab League summit taking place in Saudi Arabia.

This was highlighted by the Syrian newspaper Al-Watan. The publication claims (as noted in the event's protocol) that members of the Syrian delegation removed their headphones for simultaneous translation as soon as Zelensky began his speech.

However, as noted by Kommersant, citing the Syrian newspaper, both Assad himself and Syria’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad are quite proficient in the English language in which the Ukrainian president delivered his address.

Earlier, the Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud stated that the purpose of inviting Zelensky to the Arab League summit was the Arab leaders' desire to resolve the Ukrainian conflict as soon as possible.

It is known that Syria and Russia are allied states and have friendly relations.