Saudi Arabia, seeking global influence, hosted a meeting on Ukraine on Saturday that predicted ‘not easy’ talks, according to a Kyiv representative, as Riyadh gives pride of place to emerging powers close to Moscow .
The meeting, which started in the afternoon in Jeddah, on the shores of the Red Sea, ended on Saturday evening after several hours of speeches by the delegations present and a long discussion behind closed doors, participants said.
As expected, no final declaration will be issued, but a European source reported common ground on key points, in particular on respect for Ukraine’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty” which must be “at the heart of any peace agreement”.
According to diplomats, the meeting was to bring together nearly 40 countries, excluding Russia, Kiev being at the origin of these discussions which were held in Jeddah, on the shores of the Red Sea.
Both close to Moscow and Washington, Ryad was particularly keen to receive Brazil, India, China and South Africa, emerging powers members of the BRICS (with Russia) which, unlike Westerners, do not did not side with Ukraine without however supporting the Russian invasion launched in February 2022, according to the same sources.
“China has actively participated and been positive about the idea of ??a new meeting,” the European source said after the meeting.
“Efforts are converging to create the conditions for a meaningful negotiation…Does today’s meeting create those conditions? Clearly not. It’s a long-term effort,” his colleague said. side a French diplomatic source.
But Brazil said on Saturday that “any real negotiation must include all parties”, including Russia, according to Celso Amorim, an adviser to Brazilian President Lula da Silva, who was attending the meeting.
“Although Ukraine is the biggest victim, if we really want peace, we must involve Moscow in this process in one form or another,” he said, according to the text of his statement, transmitted at AFP.
In a speech on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said for his part that the Ukrainian delegation has put forward its ten-point peace plan, providing in particular for the total withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.
“The discussions will not be easy, but the truth is on our side,” admitted Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential administration who represents the country in Jeddah.
“We have many disagreements and we have heard many points of view,” he added in a television interview on Friday.
Criticized by the West for its refusal to condemn Russia, China sent its envoy for Ukraine, Li Hui, to Jeddah and said it was determined to contribute to “a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis”.
On the western side, Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to President Joe Biden, led the American delegation to Jeddah, according to the White House.
Paris was represented by Emmanuel Bonne, the diplomatic adviser to President Emmanuel Macron, according to the French embassy in Riyadh.
According to the program seen by AFP, the meeting was to include three hours of speeches by the participants and two hours of discussions behind closed doors before an official dinner.
Ukraine, along with the United States, has criticized Ryad for playing into Russia’s hands, under Western sanctions, by jointly pursuing an oil policy aimed at boosting prices on world markets.
Also at work in the talks on Sudan, the scene of a conflict since mid-April, Saudi Arabia, after several years of erratic policies, sees itself today as a peacemaker.
The kingdom has improved its relations with its own rivals, starting with Qatar, Turkey and even, this year again, Iran and Syria.
But if it seeks to establish itself as a “middle world power”, Saudi Arabia also hopes “to make people forget some of its past failures, such as its intervention in Yemen or the assassination (in 2018) of Jamal Khashoggi”, critical journalist Saudi Arabia, Joost Hiltermann, head of the Middle East at the specialized NGO International Crisis Group, told AFP.
The volatility of the energy markets linked to the war in Ukraine, however, gave Saudi Arabia the opportunity to get back into the diplomatic saddle.
At the UN, Saudi Arabia supported resolutions denouncing the Russian invasion as well as the proclaimed annexation of territories in eastern Ukraine.
In May, the kingdom had also invited Volodymyr Zelensky to a summit of the Arab League, who took the opportunity to accuse certain leaders of the region of turning a blind eye to the Russian invasion.
05/08/2023 22:22:43 – Ryad (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
