The crisis in Ukraine is the most severe one facing the current world order. It combines a hot war being fought on the ground between Russia and Ukraine, with a cold war, amid major escalation between Russia and Western countries led by the US.
Crises and wars, be they hot or cold, are part and parcel of politics and the never-ending conflicts between peoples and countries. Those interested can follow the rise and fall of crises across the region and the world: a coup in Niger against the backdrop of Western-Russian-Chinese conflict over Africa, a quasi-civil war in Sudan, ISIS terrorists rearing their head in Syria, and Lebanon going from bad to worse as Saudi Arabia asked its citizens to leave and Kuwait hit back at the Lebanese Minister of Economy and his statements, and an endless list of examples.
Still, none of these crises are prioritized internationally over Russian-Ukrainian, as it is the most dangerous and hottest. Moreover, it could well take destructive turns that no one wants to see. The two sides have exhausted their options over the past year and a half, and the war rages on, with Ukraine announcing yesterday that it had targeted a Russian oil tanker with drones. The push and pull on the front continues. With no creative solutions put forward by other countries, this war may go on for a long time.
The talks that began in Jeddah yesterday and will continue today are highly significant and could prove pivotal for carving a way out and developing creative solutions proposed by uninvolved actors, especially the countries, at the forefront of which is Saudi Arabia, that have insisted on forging a third path since the beginning of the crisis and the war, rejecting the deep and unprecedented polarization that emerged at the time. And now we have this meeting in Jeddah. It is being attended by Ukraine, China (for the first time), and dozens of countries that support the role Saudi Arabia has been playing in this crisis, as well as the roles it has been playing regionally and internationally.
The Jeddah meeting brings together national security advisors and representatives of 40 countries from across the globe, to discuss the most dangerous crisis facing the world. The concept of “homeland security” (or “national security,” depending on the country) is crucial. These advisors and their agencies are tasked with overseeing the security of states, domestically and internationally, politically, economically, militarily and socially. They are thereby, required to build comprehensive security regimes and effective strategies that encompass intellectual or cultural security related to identity, social questions, individuals, and institutions, and cover a wide range of modern threats, from “food security” to “cyber security.”
The Jeddah meeting is of this significance. It genuinely seeks plausible solutions that could ultimately allow for peace and bring an end to this war, thereby mitigating its devastating repercussions on both countries and the world. It seeks to achieve what no one has managed to do thus far, develop an early roadmap for creative solutions.
The skewed international balance of power is now almost a given. The world is acting in accordance with it and the risks that such imbalances tend to pose, but it creates opportunities and paves paths for increasing the influence and effectiveness of countries with the capacity and vision to make a difference. The new Saudi Arabia has both - a fact the entire world can attest to. It has the capabilities needed to play a major role on the international scene, and everyone is now familiar with its vision for the crises facing the region and the world. Thus, it has become imperative for world leaders, old and young, to engage in countless contexts.
The approach to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis that Saudi Arabia began taking around a year and a half ago, which is similar to but not identical to “non-alignment” during the Cold World War, was developed amid extremely dangerous global escalation. Indeed, we could go as far as saying that the “world order” as a whole was in jeopardy, as was “globalization” and its implications.
However, hindsight proves that it was the best path and that many countries around the world were seeking it. The attendance of 40 countries in the Jeddah meeting clearly attests to the fact that Saudi Arabia made the right call, anticipating how things would play out and putting forward a political position that many countries swiftly endorsed.
The Russian-Ukrainian crisis will not end anytime soon. Nonetheless, the Jeddah meeting seeks steps that can steer it in the right direction. That is why Ukraine thanked Saudi Arabia for organizing it. Indeed, Ukraine sees this meeting as a major opportunity to carve a way out of the crisis. Russia, for its part, welcomed the initiatives despite the fact that it did not attend, as it needs all help it can get to ensure positive developments that can resolve the crisis.
The credibility that Saudi Arabia has built historically is crucial. It is being astutely utilized in the Kingdom’s policies and positions. The balanced ties that the Saudi Crown Prince has built with all the major international parties, in both the West and East - with the countries of the West, China, Russia, and Ukraine - have put Saudi Arabia in pole position to lead an initiative of this magnitude and crystalize a vision for how to build an international consensus, which would be key to more significant breakthroughs in the future.
The international consensus on endorsing the Jeddah meeting reflects international recognition of the vigorous and substantial role that the Kingdom is capable of playing in developing solutions for highly complex and intertwined problems. In turn, this recognition is the result of the many exemplary models that Saudi Arabia has constructed in the region. It led the push to bring Syria back into the Arab League and conclude a real truce in Yemen. Furthermore, it has a viable vision for inclusive lasting peace in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia’s success in de-escalating its conflict with Iran, bridging differences with Türkiye, presenting a vision for how to engage with Israel, and the Saudi Crown Prince’s vision of transforming the region into the “new Europe,” whose features are now clear for the whole world to see, have turned into a real partner in the search for peace in the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. None of this would have been possible without this vision and its capacity to overcome challenges and develop appropriate solutions and viable offramps that all parties find compelling.
The Jeddah meeting continues the path that began in Copenhagen, Denmark, and it builds on the Chinese initiative, the African initiative, and others. The parties to the conflict, as well as most countries across the globe, are seeking to agree on principles that could be developed later on. This is what Saudi Arabia is striving for.
To conclude, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and the Jeddah meeting is this step toward peace.
