Scene-setter: What is at stake at pivotal Jeddah meeting Will Ukraine’s quest for peace be backed by global powers?

The Saudi port city of Jeddah on the Red Sea will play host to a pivotal Ukraine meeting on August 5-6, and no matter what the outcome is, the event will go down in history as a vital move, hosted by the Kingdom, amid the Kremlin displeasure, to both be in step with the time amid reforms to upgrade the oil-rich nation and seek a better place among leading nations.

This conclusion prior to the start of the talks is predicated on the fact that the kingdom is gradually turning into a venue for global events in view of its role in the global energy market. On the other hand, the hosting of the talks with over 40 leading foreign policy senior officials in the capital of the Arab world is to send strong signals to Russia that this part of the world is also against war and will not tolerate the occupation of a sovereign nation despite global retardation.

The Jeddah talks will unquestionably be no sovereign remedy to Ukraine’s bleeding wounds being deepened by Russia’s relentless attacks and bombardments of cities and villages that seem to have no end in sight.

Nevertheless, the meeting is vital for both Kyiv and Moscow since signals to come out of Jeddah will definitely illustrate the overall mood and serve as a good omen for nations still on the fence. For the Western nations, it is crystal clear they back Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s 10-point peace plan and would press hard on states in friendly terms with Russia to follow their suit as some major developing countries are still hesitant to condemn the war, as evident from July’s EU summit with Latin American leaders.

Amid the knee-jerk reactions and low-key searches for ways to halt the destructive war, underway since February 24, 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported on July 29, 2023, about Saudi Arabia’s “plan to host peace talks including Ukraine, Western nations and selected major developing countries in August”.

In a nutshell, nearly 40 nations have been invited to the Jeddah meeting with Britain, South Africa, Poland, Türkiye, and the EU countries confirming their attendance with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also expected to attend, the Wall Street Journal said, adding that India, Brazil have also been invited, but not Russia.

Late on August 4, China confirmed it would send a senior official to Saudi Arabia for weekend talks on finding a peaceful settlement to the war in Ukraine.

Prior to the Jeddah meeting, leaders and senior officials from over a dozen nations came together in summer in Copenhagen to discuss a possible peace plan for Ukraine though no details were made public.

Kyiv’s great expectations

The August 5-6 Jeddah talks are reckoned to be arrangements for a Global Peace Summit Kyiv hoped for by the end of 2023. Ukrainian and Western diplomats hope the meeting in Jeddah of national security advisers and other senior officials from some 40 countries will agree on key principles for a future peace settlement to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

Andriy Yermak, chief of President Zelenskyy's office, outlined working out a common vision of the Ukrainian leader's peace formula and discuss a Global Peace Summit to be held in the future in Saudi Arabia as among Kyiv's goals. The overall mood in the Ukrainian establishment is that the Jeddah talks should pave the way to the Global Peace Summit and determine the major principles for ending the Russian-Ukrainian war.

As for the choice of venue, Ukrainian officials ascribe it to Kyiv’s intention to prove that the conduct of the talks in the Middle East completely ruins Russia's narrative that this former Soviet satellite is only supported by the collective West. Ukraine also views the two-day talks as a good platform for winning support for Zelenskyy's peace plan from countries of the Global South.

Kyiv deems it crucial to rally support for its peace plan, and Moscow’s exclusion from the Jeddah talks is to escape pressure and attempt to gauge the international mood. Russia is not invited to Saudi Arabia because the Kremlin pigheadedly avoids looking for ways to end the war. The Arab world makes clear they will be looking for peace in Ukraine without Russia and there will be no efforts to save someone's face any longer.

The Kremlin is negative about the Jeddah talks

The Kremlin has disapproved of the talks, branding it as simulation, and pledging to monitor if it deserves a positive evaluation. This is a natural reaction since the talks without Moscow’s presence promise nothing good to it despite its efforts and round-the-clock propaganda campaign designed to blame Ukraine for the bloody war.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova believes the Jeddah meeting Kyiv and the West organized in Saudi Arabia, based on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace formula, is a farce and is intended to forge an anti-Russian coalition.

President Vladimir Putin’s Spokesman Peskov also sees eye to eye with the colleague from the Foreign Ministry and believes it remains to be fully understood what goals are set and what, in fact, the organizers plan to talk about. In his view, any attempts to promote a peaceful settlement are worthy of a positive assessment.

Jeddah meeting serves Saudi Arabia's global ambitions

Amid exciting sporting events and the transition of star football players to Saudi soccer teams, this truly significant event to look into the possibilities of working out certain criteria for bringing peace back to Ukraine is yet another attempt to enrich the picture the young Saudi MBS has in mind.

Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries capable of persuading China to jump in and put its weight behind searches for peace in Ukraine to avert WWIII or a nuclear winter.

The Saudi move is another sign that the Kingdom is now pursuing a more ambitious foreign policy with intensified diplomatic activities to play a unique role on the global scene.

Having strengthened relations with Russia in recent years, Saudi Arabia continued its balancing act, hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a landmark Arab summit in May and Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev days later.

On the other hand, the collective West also backs Saudi’s role as the relations between Moscow and Brussels promise nothing good and the same situation will go ahead until radical changes take place in weakened Russia if ever. The expenditure of the war is another burden on the West and growing discontent in their societies makes them accelerate diplomatic efforts.

Ukraine is also fully confident that any government change in the West will not affect both political and military support and therefore, is agree to conduct exploratory talks.