The global summit in Saudi Arabia on achieving peace and ending the war in Ukraine was held without Russia, symbolically without the aggressor who started the war.
In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, talks between over 40 nations on ways to end the war in Ukraine have ended. The meeting was held at the level of national security advisers. Saudi Arabia was chosen as the venue for the meeting to try to force the world’s leading countries, which have remained neutral, to support the Ukrainian Peace formula to end the war.
40 nations agreed on fair conditions for ending Russia’s war in Ukraine
According to The Wall Street Journal, the countries that participated in the negotiations on the Ukrainian Peace Formula in Saudi Arabia agreed on fair conditions for ending Russia’s war in Ukraine and narrowed the gaps.
After the Jeddah summit, diplomats said that the central principles of international law, such as respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, should be at the forefront of future peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
Strategically, such meetings gradually bring the countries of the Global South closer to the understanding of peace expressed by the West and Ukraine.
Summit in Jeddah means Russia will lose allies to circumvent sanctions
The war will not end after the summit in Saudi Arabia. But Russia may have fewer latent allies. Convincing the countries of the Global South that peace is possible only if Ukraine’s territorial integrity is guaranteed is a way to squeeze these countries step by step out of the chains of circumventing anti-Russian sanctions and buying Russian energy, which provides Russia with the funds for its war.
One of the achievements of the meeting in Jeddah on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine is the participation of China, which would have been unlikely to agree to such talks if Russia had not been present. As well as the participation of India, through which much of the Russian oil trade takes place.
China supports a third round of peace talks
China supports a third round of peace talks to find conditions for peace in Ukraine, The Guardian writes. “We have many differences, and we heard different positions, but it is important that our principles are shared,” said Li Hui, Chinese Special Representative for Eurasian Affairs.
But now, every such meeting is a step forward for the participating countries, once they have made commitments, to make efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine. Again, of course, based on Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
And strategically, this should bring the countries of the South closer to the position close to the understanding of peace expressed by the West and Ukraine.
Summit showed that Russian aggression against Ukraine has consequences far beyond Europe – German FM
German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock believes that the Jeddah summit shows that Russian aggression against Ukraine has consequences far beyond Europe. She said this in an interview with the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
“The message from Jeddah is that the brutal war waged by Russia also affects people in Africa, Asia and South America. Because it has consequences far beyond Europe: from the future of the international order to energy security. It also means rising grain prices and the global food supply, which Russia has ruthlessly worsened,” she said.
Differences on achieving peace in Ukraine were narrowed
This is the second meeting at the level of national security advisers and political directors on the key principles of peace based on President Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula.
The 10-point peace formula produced by Ukraine’s president includes the respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and the restoration of UN principles and respect of international law.
The meeting in Jeddah is crucial because it is attended by Indonesia, which also claims to be a regional leader, and Egypt, one of the contenders and a leading country in the Arab world. In addition, representatives of Mexico, Brazil, Chile, India, and Zambia. The United Kingdom, South Africa, Poland, and the EU were present.
In Jeddah, the differences that arose during the discussions in Copenhagen were narrowed, as highlighted by many observers. Back then, Ukraine insisted that world leaders adopt the Ukrainian Formula for Peace. In Saudi Arabia, however, Ukraine no longer insisted on adopting its peace plan, and other countries did not insist that Kyiv abandon it.
First summit where negotiators presented different visions
Russia was not invited to the meeting in Saudi Arabia. The Jeddah talks were interpreted as an attempt to persuade influential global players to accept the Ukrainian principles of ending the war, particularly China and India.
In general, the Jeddah summit ended without a final declaration but with cautious positive signals and active participation from China, Spiegel notes. Thus, the diplomats announced progress in discussing the key points of the Ukrainian Formula for Peace, such as territorial integrity and sovereignty.
At the same time, the Jeddah summit was the first “non-linear” meeting on the war in Ukraine, when negotiators presented visions that were not opposing but very diverse – as diverse as the 40 participating countries.
It allows to involve more countries to support ending of Russia’s war in Ukraine and restoring peace. Without the participation of Russia, as the aggressor state bears full responsibility for this war.
