Ukraine continues its efforts to rally support for its peace initiative from southern nations. Following the Copenhagen summit in June, some 30 countries have been invited to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on August 5-6 for further talks on the ten-point plan drawn up by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to end the war with Russia. Alongside the diplomatic and national security advisers of Kyiv's Western allies, G20 countries such as India, Brazil and South Africa who have remained neutral in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine are also expected to attend.
Having rallied Africa at the Russian-African summit in St. Petersburg at the end of July, Moscow takes a dim view of the participation of countries from the South and part of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) in a meeting hosted by Ukraine to which it is not invited. The Kremlin believes that peace negotiations are only possible if Kyiv accepts "new realities," namely its claims to the Ukrainian territories it occupies. Russia will monitor the meeting planned in Saudi Arabia, although it remains to be seen what the organizers intend to discuss, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, according to the state-run TASS news service.
"The world has understood how Vladimir Putin works: the more you listen to him, the more he lies, so it's better not to listen to him at all. Consequently, there's no need to discuss the terms of the peace agreement with him. You have to form a common position without him, and then present it to him," said Abbas Galliamov, an independent Russian political consultant. "This is how Russia destroys its own ability to influence the discussion of an issue that concerns it, pushing itself to the margins of world politics," he added.
"It's not good news for Putin if Mohammed Bin Salman helps mobilize hesitant states in favor of Ukraine," agreed Hasni Abidi, Director of the Geneva-based Center for Studies and Research on the Arab and Mediterranean World. However, the decision by Saudi Crown Prince "MBS" to organize this meeting does not call into question the strategic partnership that binds him to Russia, particularly with regard to oil. By committing himself to the Ukrainian issue, he is seeking above all to reassure the US, which did not welcome the Saudi-Russian oil deal.
The Saudi prince had already invited President Zelensky to the Arab League summit in Jeddah in May, to help him rally support from countries in the region. Riyadh, which has also allocated 400 million dollars in humanitarian aid to Ukraine and facilitated prisoner exchanges, would like to mediate between Ukraine and Russia.
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