The Saudi coastal city of Jeddah will host on August 5 and 6 peace talks on the crisis in Ukraine. The talks are a follow-up to the meetings held in Copenhagen in June.
Informed sources revealed that the Jeddah talks will be held at the level of national security advisors.
Saudi Member of the Cabinet and National Security Adviser Dr. Musaed Al-Aiban has sent invitations to 30 countries to attend the meetings, added the sources on condition of anonymity.
The Copenhagen talks included senior officials from the G7 and European Union, including Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Türkiye.
Head of Ukraine’s presidential office Andriy Yermak confirmed the talks would be held in Saudi Arabia.
“The Ukrainian Peace Formula contains 10 fundamental points, the implementation of which will not only ensure peace for Ukraine, but also create mechanisms to counter future conflicts in the world,” Yermak said in a statement.
“We are deeply convinced that the Ukrainian peace plan should be taken as a basis, because the war is taking place on our land."
Yermak’s statement described the 10 points as being “discussed individually and in groups with representatives of more than 50 countries on an almost weekly basis.”
Previously, Ukraine has described the 10-point peace formula as including the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the aggression and security guarantees for Ukraine.
Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Chairman of the Jeddah-based Gulf Research Center, said Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the meeting reflects its “recent intense diplomatic activity on the international scene.”
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said the Kingdom is “paving the way for the conditions to resolve differences given the respect and appreciation it enjoys from all parties.”
The Wall Street Journal said the Saudi meeting comes at a critical time during the fight between Russia and Ukraine’s western supporters.
Saudi Arabia and Ukraine have sent invitations to 30 countries, including Indonesia, Egypt, Mexico, Chile and Zambia, to attend the talks, reported WSJ.
Ukrainian and western officials are hoping these efforts would be capped with a peace summit at a later time this year. At the summit, world leaders would sign a document of common principles to end the war. These principles will lay the foundation for future peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
Western officials who spoke to the WSJ hoped that Riyadh would convince China, which is close to Russia, to attend the Jeddah meetings. Beijing did not attend the Copenhagen meeting.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had stated on Friday that Moscow was ready to hold negotiations with Kyiv, but it has refused.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously ruled out holding any negotiations with Russia.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, had received Zelenskyy in Jeddah in May on the sidelines of an Arab League summit.
He underscored to him Riyadh’s keenness on and support to all international efforts aimed at resolving the Ukrainian crisis through political means. He vowed that the Kingdom would carry on with its efforts to ease the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict.
