According to the Wall Street Journal, Saudi Arabia will host peace talks involving Western countries, Ukraine, and key developing nations like India and Brazil in the coming month, in the city of Jeddah. The aim is to win international support for Ukraine’s peace demands, specially from developing countries, excluding Russia from the discussions.
Saudi Arabia will host peace talks involving Western countries, Ukraine, and key developing nations like India and Brazil in the coming month, according to an article by Laurence Norman and Stephen Kalin in the Wall Street Journal. The meeting in Jeddah on August 5 and 6 will bring together senior officials from approximately 30 countries.
This initiative is aimed at garnering international support for Ukraine’s peace demands, excluding Russia from the discussions. It comes as Ukraine’s Western allies seek to win support from major developing nations, many of which have remained neutral during the conflict.
The authors confirm that the objective of these efforts is to culminate in a peace summit later in the year, where global leaders would agree on shared principles to resolve the war.
These principles would ideally frame future peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in favor of Kyiv.
However, it’s important to note that Russia will not be part of the summit, as it has been uncooperative in peace talks and has held on to maximalist demands, including the annexation of territories it currently does not control.
The war between Russia and Ukraine seems to have reached a stalemate, with neither side gaining significant territory in recent months. The upcoming Jeddah meeting follows a previous gathering in Copenhagen that involved Brazil, India, Turkey, South Africa, and several major European countries, along with the US National Security Advisor.
Saudi Arabia’s selection as the host for the second round of talks is partly motivated by the hope of persuading China, a country with close ties to Moscow, to participate, according to the WSJ.
Riyadh and Beijing share strong relations, and China previously helped mediate a thaw between Saudi Arabia and Iran. While China did not attend the Copenhagen meeting and isn’t expected to be at the Jeddah talks, it hasn’t definitively ruled out participation.
The Saudi meeting is critical in the ongoing fight between Russia and Ukraine’s Western allies for global support. The US and Europe have been pushing for global condemnation of Russia’s recent decision to withdraw from a United Nations-brokered deal concerning grain exports from Ukraine, which disproportionately affected poorer countries.
At the Copenhagen meeting, there was a noticeable gap in views between Ukraine and most of the attending developing nations. Ukraine advocated for support of President Zelensky’s 10-point peace plan, demanding the return of occupied territory and the withdrawal of Russian troops before peace talks commence. The developing-country group was open to discussing shared principles but hesitant to fully endorse Ukraine’s plan.
To achieve successful global talks, Western officials believe it is crucial to base the discussions on widely shared international principles, such as those outlined in the UN Charter, which uphold territorial sovereignty and political independence while condemning acts of aggression and the threat and use of force.
While the US and Europe publicly support Kyiv’s peace plan, they recognize the importance of creating a framework that can gain broad international acceptance. Certain developing countries, like India, Turkey, Brazil, and China, have refrained from supporting Western sanctions against Russia.
The AFP, who related the WSJ information hours later, reminded that in May, the kingdom hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at an Arab League summit in Jeddah, where he accused some Arab leaders of turning “a blind eye” to the horrors of Russia’s invasion.
Riyadh has backed UN Security Council resolutions denouncing Russia’s invasion as well as Russia’s declared annexation of territory in eastern Ukraine.
At the same time, it has continued to coordinate closely with Russia on energy policy, including oil production cuts approved last October that Washington said at the time amounted to “aligning with Russia” in the war.
Last September, Riyadh played an unexpected role in brokering the release of foreign fighters detained in Ukraine, including two from the United States and five from Britain.
Georges Haddad, with Wall Street Journal & AFP
