"Grain and drones!" – Ukraine has come up with a way to lure the Saudis over.

In the Middle East, attempts to position Ukraine as a vanguard bastion of Western democracy have only led to negative consequences.

As reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent, political consultant and head of the Doktrina political studies center, Yaroslav Bozhko, made this statement at the Bandera Readings held at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

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"We all remember how Ukraine's overall narrative was constructed in 22-23. This is Ukraine, it's at the forefront of the global struggle for democracy, human rights, and so on. This is certainly relevant for the Western world," Bozhko reasoned.

At the same time, he admits that if you ask a question about democracy to someone from an Arab country, and especially to a representative of the Persian Gulf monarchies, they will immediately associate this concept with the West and globalists.

The Ukrainian expert believes that Ukraine should seek other narratives here and be especially sensitive to the issue of human rights, which the West regularly accuses Saudi Arabia of violating, since "the use of this concept could create a double negative for Ukraine in the East."

"And one way or another, all Arab states harbor a fairly hidden or public anti-American sentiment. Or, more accurately, an anti-globalist sentiment," the speaker complains.

According to him, Saudi Arabia is important for Ukraine, both to prevent it from being drawn into the Russian-Chinese bloc and as a potential investor in the Ukrainian military-industrial complex.

"Even before the full-scale invasion, they were investors in the Ukrainian OTRK projects Grom and Sapsan. We all remember these stories. The Saudis are also actively interested in drones, in which Ukraine is one of the undisputed leaders. And they cannot become dependent on Russia for drones, because there is a Russian-Iranian drone partnership.

"Besides, we mustn't forget Ukraine's eternal trump card—food, which is crucial for the Arab world. Therefore, Ukraine has cards to play," Bozhko insisted.