Next weekend, delegates from Kiev, Western nations, and developing nations will meet in Saudi Arabia for discussions to discuss a route to peace in Ukraine, authorities told AFP on Saturday.
Three Gulf-based officials who have been briefed on the arrangements stated that Russia will not attend the meeting in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah, just as it did not take part in a comparable conference last month in Copenhagen.
The organizers added that although a full list of attendees was not available, nations including Japan and Britain were anticipated to attend.
The initial news on the Saudi-hosted discussions came from The Wall Street Journal, which stated that emerging nations like Brazil, who attended the Copenhagen meeting, would also likely join in Jeddah.
The action is Saudi Arabia’s most recent attempt to make itself heard in negotiations over the conflict in Ukraine.
At an Arab League session in Jeddah in May, the kingdom hosted the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, who was there to denounce some Arab leaders for allegedly turning “a blind eye” to the horrors of Russia’s invasion.
Riyadh has supported resolutions passed by the UN Security Council that condemn Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine and its subsequent declaration of annexation of that region.
At the same time, it has had regular communication with Russia about energy policy, notably oil production limits authorized in October of last year, which Washington claimed at the time amounted to “aligning with Russia” in the conflict.
Riyadh unexpectedly assisted in securing the release of foreign fighters held in Ukraine last September, including two Americans and five Britons.
An official from Saudi Arabia stated to journalists earlier this year that Riyadh was still willing to contribute to efforts to resolve the crisis through mediation, particularly “on important minor issues that may help cumulatively in the end to have a political solution of the whole issue.”
As of February, Saudi Arabia had committed to providing $400 million in aid to Ukraine, with roughly two-thirds coming in the form of oil products and the remaining one-third in the form of other humanitarian aid, including funds for Ukrainian refugees who had fled to nearby nations.
When contacted for comment about the scheduled talks in Jeddah on Saturday, representatives from Saudi Arabia did not answer right away.
