Ukraine says Saudi-hosted peace talks productive, Russia calls them doomed
- Officials from more than 40 countries met in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah in an attempt to resolve the war in Ukraine
- But 18 months after Russia invaded Ukraine, any prospect of direct peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow appears remote
A senior Ukrainian official said on Sunday that talks in Jeddah to make headway towards a peaceful settlement of the war with Russia had been productive, but Moscow called the meeting a doomed attempt to swing the Global South behind Kyiv.
More than 40 countries, including China, India, the United States, and European countries, but not Russia, took part in the Jeddah talks that concluded on Sunday with the participants agreeing on the importance of continuing consultations to pave the way for peace, according to a closing statement released by Saudi Arabia.
Ukraine and its allies have said the talks are an attempt to secure broad international support for principles that Kyiv wants to be the basis for peace, including the withdrawal of all Russian troops and the return of all Ukrainian territory to its control.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he wants a global summit to take place based on those principles later this year.
Saudi Arabia’s Media Ministry said participants had agreed on the importance of continuing consultations to pave the way for peace. European officials have said participants planned to establish working groups to address specific problems raised by the war.
Eighteen months after Russia invaded Ukraine, any prospect of direct peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow appears remote.
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Speaking about the Jeddah talks, Zelensky’s head of staff Andriy Yermak said in a statement: “We had very productive consultations on the key principles on which a just and lasting peace should be built.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by state media on Sunday as saying the meeting was “a reflection of the West’s attempt to continue futile, doomed efforts” to mobilise the Global South behind Zelensky’s position.
While Western countries have broadly backed Ukraine, many other states have been reluctant to take sides even though they want an end to a conflict that has hit the global economy.
The participation of China, which stayed away from an earlier round of talks in Copenhagen and has shunned Western calls to condemn Russia’s invasion, signalled a possible shift in its stance but not a major change, analysts said.
Western diplomats have also emphasised Saudi Arabia’s role in convening a wider group of countries to take part, using its growing relationship with Beijing and its continued ties with both Moscow and Kyiv.
Yermak said different viewpoints emerged during the talks in Saudi Arabia, calling them “an extremely honest, open conversation”.
He said all the countries present had shown a commitment to the principles of international law and respect for the sovereignty and inviolability of the territorial integrity of states.
