Jeddah peace talks on Ukraine are very fruitful

Jeddah, The Gulf Observer: Saudi National security advisers and representatives of foreign ministries of more than 40 countries concluded their meetings on resolution of the Ukrainian crisis in Jeddah on Sunday. At the end of the very fruitful and open consultations, they agreed on the importance of continuing international consultations and exchanging opinions in order to build a common ground that will pave the way for peace. They also emphasized the importance of benefiting from views and positive suggestions made during the meeting.

On his part, Director of the Office of the Ukrainian President Andrei Yermak, who headed his country’s delegation to the Jeddah meetings, said that the participants held very fruitful consultations on the basic principles on which a just and lasting peace should be built. During the meeting, representatives of each country were able to express their position and opinion.

Saudi Minister of State and Member of the Cabinet and National Security Advisor Musaed Al-Aiban chaired the meeting, which was also attended among others by the officials of the United Nations.

Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the meeting comes as a continuation of the humanitarian initiatives and efforts being made in this context by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman since March 2022. It is noteworthy that the Crown Prince made contacts with the Russian and Ukrainian leaderships since the early days of the crisis, and reiterated his country’s willingness to carry out its good offices to contribute to reaching a solution, leading to lasting peace, and supports all efforts and initiatives aimed at mitigating the effects of the crisis and its humanitarian repercussions.

According to Saudi sources, the heads of the participating delegations concluded their main meetings on Saturday evening, while technical meetings of state representatives continued on Sunday for the purpose of upcoming coordination and cooperation.

The Ukrainian official Yermak said that the participants held very fruitful consultations on the basic principles on which a just and lasting peace should be built, during which representatives of each country were able to express their position and opinion. “The second meeting was held on the main principles for restoring sustainable and just peace for Ukraine, which began last June in Copenhagen,” Yermak said in a statement published by the Ukrainian presidential website.

He pointed out that the Jeddah meetings were attended by more than 40 countries, which represents three times what was represented in the Copenhagen consultations, and this indicates the extraordinary interest of the world in establishing a sustainable and just peace.

“We had very fruitful consultations on the basic principles upon which a just and lasting peace should be built, and we held very honest and open talks, during which representatives of each country were able to express their position and opinion. There were different opinions, but all participants emphasized their countries’ commitment to the principles of peace, as well as to the Charter of the United Nations, international law, respect for the sovereignty of states and the inviolability of their territorial integrity,” he said.

Yermak pointed out that the meeting held in Jeddah was a step towards the practical implementation of the peace initiatives proposed by Ukraine, and each country participating in the consultations had the opportunity to show leadership in the global efforts for peace, and most of them have already defined their role in implementing certain points of the formula.

He also indicated that the parties agreed to continue working at various representative levels to bring about a just and comprehensive peace. In parallel, the Ukrainian delegation held a series of bilateral meetings on Sunday, in which it discussed with its partners the details of implementing peace and cooperation initiatives in this field.

The Jeddah meetings came as a continuation of discussions on peace, hosted by the Danish capital Copenhagen last June, with the participation of senior officials from Ukraine, the G7 countries, the European Union, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, India, South Africa and Turkey.

During the meeting, the Ukrainian president proposed holding a peace summit that would endorse principles to support a settlement to end the war, most notably the full restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the complete withdrawal of Russian forces, ensuring food and energy security, nuclear safety, and the release of all prisoners.