Representatives of more than 40 countries – including China and the United States – participated this Saturday in a summit to make progress towards eThe end of the war in Ukraine. The meeting, sponsored by Saudi Arabia in Jeddah, was marked by the absence of Russia, but also due to the participation of countries that have not condemned the invasion by Moscow, such as Brazil or India. The Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, hopes to be able to get closer to governments that until now have maintained neutral in the conflict and reach agreements with the countries punished by the increase in the price of grain after the start of the war. “(The summit) is very important because, on issues like food security, the fate of millions of people in Africa, Asia and other parts of the world depends on how fast the world (participating countries) moves to implement mechanisms to achieve peace,” Zelensky declared hours before the meeting. Dozens of countries have expressed concern about their food safety, after Russia canceled the grain agreement negotiated with kyiv and the UN; that allowed a security corridor for the shipment of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.
The current summit is a follow-up to Ukraine-hosted talks in Copenhagen in June, which were designed to be an informal meeting to make progress toward creating a dozen principles to end the war. The Ukrainian formula includes the respect for the territorial integrity of the country and the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, including the territories that Moscow has annexed. Russia, for its part, has previously rejected some principles that kyiv wants to include in the road map towards the end of the conflict. The Kremlin, which is not participating in this weekend’s summit, declared that it would “closely follow” the meeting. “We need to understand what goals are set and what will be discussed,” the Kremlin spokesman said. Dmitry Peskov.
The summit in Jeddah stands out for its attempt to involve a wide variety of countries, especially those governments that have shown more neutral stances since the start of the conflict. one of them is China, which has maintained a neutral stance and economic agreements between Moscow and kyiv since the start of the war and has rejected calls and criticism from Western countries to condemn the Russian invasion. Beijing participates in the summit, with its special envoy for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui. “China is ready to work with the international community to continue to play a constructive role in promoting a political solution to the Ukraine crisis,” Foreign Ministry spokesman said before the summit. Wang Wenbin. On the other hand, the United States has sent its national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.
For its part, Saudi Arabia has supported the resolutions of the UN Security Council, which denounces the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as the unilateral annexation of territories in the east of the country. However, Riyadh has been criticized by Washington forr play with oil production to cause a price increase, at a time of great concern about gasoline prices after the imposition of sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. The Saudi oil production cut, which sought an increase in the price of a barrel, was interpreted as support for Moscow, although Riyadh has called for a balance in its relations with both countries, including inviting Zelensky to a summit of countries in May. arabs.
This weekend’s summit is the first major diplomatic meeting organized by Saudi Arabia after the scandal over the death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, whose assassination was allegedly ordered by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to international research. In the last year, Riyadh has made a diplomatic turn to be a more competent global player, with meetings with the US and Chinese governments. He also carried out a rapprochement with Qatar and an agreement of ceasefire in Yemen.