Saudi Arabia convened talks on the Ukraine war, with representatives from nearly 40 countries present, excluding Russia. The meeting held in Jeddah aimed to discuss Ukraine’s 10-point peace formula and explore possibilities for engaging countries in finding a path towards peace.
Saudi Arabia hosted talks on the Ukraine war Saturday in the latest flexing of its diplomatic muscle, a session that Kyiv had predicted would “not be easy” given the wide range of countries represented.
The meeting, which Ukrainian organisers said would include representatives from nearly 40 countries but not Russia, concluded on Saturday evening after several hours of statements from the various delegations and a lengthy closed discussion, participants said.
As expected, no final declaration was due to be released, though some delegations were planning to take part in bilateral meetings in Jeddah on Sunday, participants said.
Organisers succeeded in bringing together representatives of the four members of the influential BRICS bloc besides Russia: Brazil, India, China and South Africa.
Yet the head of Brazil’s delegation, foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim, used his prepared remarks to stress that “any real negotiation must include all parties,” including Russia, according to a copy of his statement shared with AFP.
“Although Ukraine is the biggest victim, if we really want peace, we have to involve Moscow in this process in some form.”
Ukraine had gone into the meeting expecting tension.
“I predict that the conversation will not be easy, but the truth is on our side,” the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said in an interview broadcast on Friday.
“We have many disagreements and we have heard many positions, but it is important that we share our principles,” said Yermak, who headed Kyiv’s delegation to the talks.
“Our task is to unite the whole world around Ukraine.”
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, failing in its attempt to take the capital but seizing swathes of eastern territory that Western-backed Ukrainian troops are fighting to recapture.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office said this week that the meeting would focus on his 10-point peace formula that calls for the full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.
It also calls for the restoration of Ukraine’s borders — including the territory of Crimea, unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2014.
Russia has in the past said any negotiations would need to take into account “new territorial realities”.
Marie de La Roche Saint-André, with AFP
