Representatives of more than 40 countries, including China and the United States, participated in a summit on Saturday to make progress towards ending the war in Ukraine. The meeting, sponsored by Saudi Arabia in Jeddah, has been marked by the absence of Russia, but also by 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 remained 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 security, 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 respect for the country’s territorial integrity 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, said it would “closely follow” the meeting. “We need to understand what goals are set and what will be discussed,” Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov said.
The Jeddah summit 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 with Moscow and Kiev since the start of the war and has rejected calls and criticism from Western countries to condemn the Russian invasion. Beijing is participating 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 Wang Wenbin said before the summit. 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 for playing with oil production to drive up prices, at a time of heightened concern over gasoline prices following the imposition of sanctions on Russia over its 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 Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, according to international investigations. 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. It also carried out a rapprochement with Qatar and a ceasefire agreement in Yemen.
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