Representatives of 30 countries invited to Saudi Arabia for meeting on Ukraine

A second meeting on ending the war in Ukraine will take place in Saudi Arabia on 5-6 August, with representatives of 30 countries being invited to attend.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Details: Diplomats involved in the discussions say high-ranking officials from 30 countries are expected to arrive in Jeddah on 5 and 6 August. Russia has not been invited to the meeting.

Ukrainian and Western officials hope these efforts will result in a peace summit later this year, during which world leaders would agree on joint ground rules for ending the war. They hope these principles can shape future peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Kyiv's favour, the newspaper said.

The meeting in Saudi Arabia follows a meeting of senior officials in Copenhagen in late June, attended by representatives of Brazil, India, Türkiye and South Africa, among others. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also participated in the meeting.

Saudi Arabia and Ukraine have invited 30 countries to the new meeting in Jeddah, among them Indonesia, Egypt, Mexico, Chile and Zambia. How many of them will attend is unclear, although the states that participated in the Copenhagen talks are expected to do so again.

The UK, South Africa, Poland and the EU are among those who have confirmed their participation. The source said Sullivan is also expected to attend the meeting again.

Western diplomats say Saudi Arabia was selected to host the second round of talks partly in the hope of persuading China, a country with close ties to Moscow, to participate. People involved in the negotiations say Beijing does not plan to attend the meeting but has not ruled out the possibility.

The participants in the Copenhagen meeting noted a wide gap between Ukraine and most developing countries. Ukrainian officials pushed participants to support President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's 10-point peace plan, calling for all occupied territories to be given back and demanding that Russian occupying forces leave Ukraine before peace talks begin.

A group of developing countries has made it clear that they are open to discussing common principles, but will not sign up to Ukraine's plan, the Wall Street Journal reports.

A senior European diplomat said Ukraine still insists on international support for issues not accepted by developing countries, such as the extension of sanctions against Russia.

Background:

• In May, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested holding a global peace summit with the participation of as many countries as possible, in order to gain their support for the Ukrainian peace formula.
• In June, political and national security advisers from fifteen countries, including the three BRICS members and the United States, met in Copenhagen to discuss key principles for achieving peace in Ukraine.
• Following the meeting in Copenhagen, the EU suggested that a peace summit on Ukraine might take place before the end of the year.
• In an interview on 27 July, Zelenskyy mentioned the forthcoming meeting in Saudi Arabia. "There was already a meeting in Copenhagen, and a second meeting is currently planned in Saudi Arabia. I am glad that Brazil will be there. Then we will reach a summit on the Peace Formula," he said.

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