Decisions on Ukraine during Jeddah summit 'meaningless' without Russia
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Moscow says it will keep an eye on the outcomes of the Ukraine-peace summit in Saudi Arabia and will be open to discussing them.
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Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova speaks to the media in Moscow, on March 29, 2018 (AFP)
Moscow considers any decisions on the Ukrainian conflict that might be reached during talks held in Saudi Arabia's Jeddah are "meaningless" without Russia's participation, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.
During an interview aired on the Russian RBC channel, Zakharova said "everyone" is aware that resolving the conflict at the political level without Russia is “meaningless and nonsense,” noting, however, that Moscow is willing to openly discuss the meeting's outcome.
A two-day peace summit was launched on Saturday in Saudi Arabia in the presence of 30 nations, including Ukraine, the US, the EU, China, South Africa, and Brazil, and the absence of Russia, which was not invited.
Ukraine and Western officials hope that the efforts will culminate in a peace conference later this year, aiming for using the agreed-upon principles to design future peace discussions between Russia and Ukraine in favor of Kiev.
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Moscow will follow up on the conference's results and "will wait to see" what will be concluded.
According to a Politico report, the meetings will focus on "food and energy security, prisoner exchange, environmental security problems, and the formation of a war crimes tribunal."
Saudi Arabia is attempting to play a stronger role in Ukraine diplomacy after it was accused by Washington of siding with Russia in maintaining high oil prices.
According to Western officials, Saudi Arabia was chosen to host the second round of negotiations in part to persuade China, which has maintained tight ties with Moscow, to attend.
