The Financial Times published a report about Saudi Arabia hosting a conference aimed at mobilizing support for a Ukrainian peace plan.
Dozens of countries participating in a conference hosted by Saudi Arabia that began on Friday and continues until Sunday, aiming to influence developing countries to support a Ukrainian peace plan and its demands for Russia to withdraw its forces.
The conference of national security advisers comes on the heels of a similar meeting in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, in which Ukraine is intensifying its efforts to engage major developing countries in isolating Moscow internationally before the planned “Peace Summit” that Kiev seeks to arrange before the end of this year.
Dozens of countries, mostly developing countries that have been reluctant to condemn Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, have been invited to attend the Jeddah conference, at which National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will represent the United States.
China confirmed its participation, as many consider Beijing’s presence is a victory for both the Ukrainians and the Saudis, while Russia wasn’t invited to this meeting.
Saudi Arabia has also brokered a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine and has sought to establish itself diplomatically on the world stage.
According to Ihor Zovkva, deputy head of the Zelensky administration, holding the summit in the Middle East totally destroys Russia’s narrative that only Western countries support Ukraine.
Officials from Ukraine’s presidency and foreign ministry met with experts from the developing world in Poland last month as they sought ideas on how to better engage with Africa, Asia and Latin America.
A participant in the Warsaw conference, in which officials from the Ukrainian presidency and foreign ministry met with experts from the developing world to seek ideas on how to better engage with Africa, Asia and Latin America, said they advised Kiev to divide international decisions on Russia’s invasion into two parts, so that developing countries could of voting to condemn the invasion without having to sign punitive measures against Moscow.
“The Ukrainians couldn’t understand why we didn’t confront Russia, but we aren’t like Eastern Europe, and we don’t define our existence by opposing Russia”.
