Saudi Arabia will host peace summit to end Ukraine war
According to Western diplomatic sources, Saudi Arabia is preparing to host a peace summit aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. The summit is expected to be attended by some 30 countries, including India, Brazil and several African Union nations. However, it is not known whether China will attend. Russia, which has shown particular interest in the Chinese and African peace initiatives presented earlier, will not be present.
Saudi Arabia's intention is to bring together several peace initiatives, including the Chinese and African ones, into a single proposal with the joint signatures of the participating nations; this would give it international credibility. The absence of Chinese participation would be a major setback for Riyadh, given the close ties between the two countries. If China were to participate, it would be a major gain, adding a major boost to the joint initiative.
Recently, China's special representative for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, embarked on a European tour to discuss China's peace initiative to resolve the Ukrainian crisis with several nations, including Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany, Belgium and Russia.
As reported by Al-Arab media, the summit is scheduled to be held in Jeddah on 5-6 August, and efforts are being made to ensure broad participation from nations including Britain, South Africa, members of the European Union, Egypt, Indonesia, Mexico, Chile, Zambia, as well as India and Brazil. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is also expected to attend.
Initial discussions at the summit are expected to focus on respect for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity on the basis of the UN Charter. This would involve Russia agreeing to withdraw its forces from Ukrainian territory, resolving the status of Crimea, lifting sanctions on Russia, establishing an international fund to rebuild Ukraine, implementing a ceasefire, and initiating two-level negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and between Russia and NATO to address Russian strategic security concerns.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier praised Chinese and African initiatives as a basis for peace in Ukraine, but warned against implementing certain measures, such as agreeing to a ceasefire while under attack. Russia claims it has never refused to negotiate with Ukraine to end the conflict and attributes the failure of previous negotiations to Kiev's lack of response to Moscow's documents and requests.
Saudi Arabia is leveraging its close relations with Russia, China and Ukraine to strengthen the leverage of the proposed initiative and gain Russia's attention. The Jeddah summit aims to address the main demands of both sides, excluding negotiations on the ground or Russia's demands to include certain Ukrainian regions.
The current situation indicates heavy losses for both sides and, despite Ukrainian counter-attacks, there has been no significant change in the balance of power between the belligerents. Observers believe that this scenario may facilitate the holding of the summit, as it highlights the urgent need for a resolution.