Ukrainian President Expresses Hope for Peace Summit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday expressed hope that a peace summit would take place this fall and that talks in Saudi Arabia this week would be a step towards that goal.
Zelensky told Ukrainian diplomats in a letter that about 40 countries would take part in the meeting in Saudi Arabia.
Promoting Peace Summit
He added: “We are working to have it (peace summit) next fall.”
He continued: “Autumn is very close, but there is still time to prepare for the summit and involve most of the countries in the world.”
Zelenskiy and his team are working with allies to garner broad support for a “peace summit” that will establish principles for supporting a settlement to end the war that began almost 18 months ago.
The summit should build on the ten-point plan that Kyiv put forward last fall and Zelenskiy is pushing it forward.
His vision of the world revolves around a number of points, most notably the full restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, the complete withdrawal of Russian troops, ensuring food and energy security, nuclear security, and the release of all prisoners.
No agreement has yet been reached on the venue of the summit.
According to Ukrainian and Western officials, Russia will not participate in the summit.
It is noteworthy that the date of the talks in Saudi Arabia has not yet been officially set, but the Wall Street Journal reported that the meeting could take place in Jeddah on August 5 and 6. She added that high-ranking officials from 30 countries of the world will take part in the event.
For his part, Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Yevhen Mykytenko said that representatives of various levels would take part in the talks.
South African presidential spokesman Vincent Magvina also confirmed his country’s participation. According to him, representatives of the G7 countries, the European Union, India, Brazil and Turkey will take part in the talks in Jeddah.
Global Participation
Earlier, the Czech Republic confirmed its participation in the talks. The Brazilian government also confirmed its intention to send a representative to Jeddah.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry expressed the hope that Beijing will officially confirm its participation in the coming days.
As for the Russian position, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow would follow a “peace meeting” on Ukraine to be held in Saudi Arabia.
Russia has repeatedly pointed out that “any attempt to promote a peaceful settlement deserves a positive assessment.”
At the same time, Peskov drew attention to the lack of favorable conditions for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine at the present time.
