Someone has rightly said that it is much easier to start a war than to end it. Ukraine war proves it. Dreams and delusions fuel many wars.
Those who start the fighting seem to believe that war aims would not take long to achieve or cost that much. However, they appear to exaggerate their strengths and underestimate the opponent’s resolve.
High-ranking officials from some 40 countries held talks in Jeddah on Saturday that Kyiv and its allies hope would lead to agreement on key principles end to the war in Ukraine. The world’s top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has played a role in convening countries that did not join earlier meetings.
The two-day meeting is part of a diplomatic push by Ukraine to build support beyond its core Western backers by reaching out to Global South countries that have been hesitant to take sides in a conflict that has hit the global economy.
Despite the fact that expectations for diplomatic breakthroughs at the Ukraine peace summit in Jeddah summit were low, Saudi Arabia hosted talks to end the Ukrainian war, which has disrupted food exports from the world’s breadbasket affecting the global food supply.
Riyadh has worked with Moscow in recent years on oil market policy and, along with Turkey; helped mediate a prisoner swap between Ukraine and maritime safety agreements like the Black Sea grain deal with Russia last year. Zelenskiy attended an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia last year where MbS voiced readiness to help mediate in the war.
Taking up such roles is good for enabling dialogue. The Ukraine peace summit in Jeddah is a continuation of efforts by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and his communication with Russian and Ukrainian leaders since the early days of the crisis, to achieve a permanent peace deal, while reducing the impact of the war and its humanitarian repercussions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was grateful to the Kingdom for the platform for negotiations. National security advisers and international representatives met in Jeddah.
Yesterday in Saudi Arabia, when a meeting of advisers to heads of state and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the Peace Formula began, many countries on different continents, attended, including the countries of the global south.
It was very important because, in such matters as food security, the fate of millions of people in Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world directly depends on how fast the world will be in implementing the Peace Formula.
The summit in Jeddah followed a similar event in Copenhagen in June that could help enable systematic movement toward the global peace summit. A fair and honest end to the Russia-Ukraine war will benefit everyone in the world. Eliminating all threats to global security and returning peace to international relations and stability to global life.
The participation of China is a diplomatic achievement for the Kingdom. According to a German official, Saudi diplomacy played a key role in persuading Beijing to attend the Jeddah talks.
Chinese special envoy for Eurasian affairs Li Hui took part in talks in Saudi Arabia on finding a peaceful settlement to the war in Ukraine. China did not attend the previous round of talks in Copenhagen in late June.
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin says China is willing to work with the international community to continue to play a constructive role in promoting a political solution to the crisis.
An analyst says the summit was more palatable to Beijing with Saudi Arabia as host since the West did not engineer it. Officials described the talks as positive and said any agreement should take into account the respect for the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of Ukraine.
