Saudi Arabia to host Ukraine peace talks, excluding Russia
4 Min Read
Russia is excluded from the negotiations, something the US and Europe hope will benefit Ukraine.
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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, left, is greeted by Prince Badr Bin Sultan, deputy governor of Mecca, upon his arrival at Jeddah airport, Saudi Arabia on May 19, 2023. (AP)
Early next month, Saudi Arabia is set to hold peace negotiations between Western nations, Ukraine, and important emerging countries, such as India and Brazil, as Europe and Washington work to ramp up international support for Ukraine's peace demands, The Wall Street Journal reported.
According to diplomats participating in the talks, the summit would gather top officials from up to 30 nations in Jeddah on the 5th and 6th of August. It comes amid an intensifying competition between the Kremlin and Ukraine's Western backers, as reported by the WSJ, going after the backing of big developing countries, many of which have maintained neutrality in the Ukraine conflict.
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.
Read more: Peace talks will hinge on proposal considerate of Moscow's interests
The summit would, however, exclude Russia, and over 30 nations may attend the summit, likely the same nations who attended the Copenhagen summit. The United Kingdom, South Africa, Poland, and the European Union have all confirmed their presence.
According to a source familiar with the plans, Jake Sullivan is likely to attend.
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. China recently brokered the deal to restore relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia in March.
The US and UN have attempted to condemn Russia's withdrawal from the grain deal, while the Russian President hosted African heads of state in Russia this week, where he promised free grain supplies for numerous African nations, considering that most of the shipments involved in the deal headed to developed nations.
During the Copenhagen Summit, Ukraine and most developing countries were not on the same page.
The developing-country group expressed willingness to discuss shared principles but did not agree to Zelensky's 10-point peace plan, which includes that Russian troops exit the country before peace talks even begin.
Ukraine abandoned the agreements established when Russian soldiers withdrew from the Kiev area, and Moscow does not understand why Western countries are pulling Ukraine into NATO, posing a security concern, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin added that Moscow has repeatedly publicly voiced its readiness for talks with Kiev, stressing that "after the withdrawal of our troops from near Kiev - and we were asked to do this in order to create conditions for the conclusion of a final agreement - the Kiev authorities abandoned all previous agreements" and adding that now "the ball is completely on their side."
On his part, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto expressed that the crisis between Moscow and Kiev cannot be settled on the battlefield, adding that the situation for peace talks to settle the Ukrainian war will deteriorate further, emphasizing that the two parties are in a better position for discussions at the moment.
Moscow appreciates African countries’ approach in finding Ukraine solution
During the second Russia-Africa Summit on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia has carefully analyzed African countries' ideas and considerations on Ukraine and respects their desire to find a right and fair solution to the Ukraine crisis.
During the meeting, the Russian leader expressed hope that African countries would understand the nature and origins of the Ukraine crisis.
"We tried to convey our vision of this problem. We believe that the problem did not arise yesterday, and was provoked by some forces in the West, who had been preparing for a hybrid war with our country for many years, doing everything to turn Ukraine into a tool to undermine the foundations of Russia's security, to damage Russian positions in the world, and to undermine our statehood," Putin said.
