Ukraine, G7 and Global South countries hold secret meeting on "peace talks" with Russia – Bloomberg

Ukraine, the Group of Seven (G7) countries, and several states of the Global South held a secret meeting in December to increase support for Kyiv and its conditions for peace talks with Russia.

Source: Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The previously undisclosed meeting of national security advisers took place in Saudi Arabia on 16 December, following larger, highly publicised meetings aimed at countering Moscow's attempts to divide and portray Ukraine and its allies as unwilling to negotiate an end to the war.

The secrecy partly served to ensure that the participating countries felt more comfortable with their presence. The participants explained that the smaller format allowed for a more unrestrained and more frank discussion of what is known as the Peace Formula, plans to push forward with this process, and the principles of potential future engagement with Russia.

However, this meeting, and the one held in Riyadh, made little progress. Sources familiar with the gathering claimed that Ukraine and its G7 partners persisted in resisting calls from the Global South for direct engagement with Russia.

Moscow denounced the efforts of Ukraine’s allies, to which Russia was not invited, as a farce.

While senior officials from India, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye joined the December meeting in Riyadh, other major countries from the Global South that have attended some of the previous major sessions – including China, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates – did not send representatives.

Given the close ties between the two nations, many participating countries see Beijing as a pivotal leverage over Moscow.

Kyiv and its G7 partners reaffirmed their stance that a just peace must respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. They stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin's goals have not changed, and he has shown no sign of seriously wanting to engage in meaningful negotiations and does not respect previous agreements.

Ukraine's allies have sent a clear message that they will continue to support Ukraine, and the EU and the US have expressed confidence that support packages will be approved.

Ukraine and its partners have scheduled the next meeting of the enlarged group of advisers in Switzerland next week on the eve of the World Economic Forum in Davos and have invited more than 100 countries to attend. Previous meetings were held in Copenhagen, Jeddah and Malta last year.

Background: Earlier, reports suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy may visit Switzerland next week for at least two days.

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