Riyadh: As reported by diplomats, Saudi Arabia will host international peace talks on Ukraine next month involving the US, EU, and some nations from Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
The event, which is being organised by the Western powers and Ukraine, has excluded Russia, the outlet reported on Saturday.
The event will take place in Jeddah on August 5 and 6 and invites representatives from about 30 nations. According to the sources, these nations include India, Brazil, Indonesia, Egypt, Mexico, Chile, and Zambia. They did, however, add that it is still unclear how many countries will ultimately send delegations to Saudi Arabia.
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The UK, South Africa, Poland, and the EU are among those who have already accepted the invitation, according to the diplomats. According to a person familiar with the plans, Jake Sullivan, the UN's national security advisor, is anticipated to attend the occasion.
According to the report, Saudi Arabia, which enjoys good relations with China, was selected as the meeting location in part in an effort to persuade Beijing to send representatives. The sources acknowledged that it is unlikely that the Chinese will travel to the meeting, despite not completely ruling out the possibility.
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The talks, a follow-up to a comparable gathering that occurred in Copenhagen, Denmark, in late June, are an effort by the West to "win support from major developing countries, many of which have been neutral over the Ukraine war" for Kiev's peace demands, according to the WSJ.
The "developing country group [which included India and Brazil] made it clear they... wouldn't sign onto Ukraine's plan" at the meeting in Copenhagen, it continued.
Vladimir Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, has been promoting his alleged "ten-point peace plan" for months. Among other things, it calls for Russia to withdraw its forces from territories it claims as its own, pay reparations, and submit to war crime tribunals. Moscow has rejected those conditions, calling them unrealistic and a sign that Kiev isn't interested in having a real conversation.
The Jeddah peace talks are expected to pave the way for a larger international peace summit later this year where leaders would commit to a set of shared principles for ending the crisis, according to the organisers. The diplomats expressed optimism that these guiding principles would frame upcoming peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev in Ukraine's favour.
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Friday in St. Petersburg at the Russia-Africa Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed confidence that "all differences must be resolved at the negotiating table."
However, "the problem is that they are refusing to talk to us," Putin said, referring to Ukraine and its backers in the US and NATO. Moscow is willing to pursue a diplomatic resolution