Saudi Arabia to host Ukraine peace talks in August, India among top guests

A report of Wall Street Journal, confirms that Saudi Arabia is ready to host talks in August on Ukraine. Saudi Arabia will invite up to 30 countries, including Indonesia, Egypt, Mexico, Chile and Zambia, to Jeddah.

Developing countries invited to the summit include India and Brazil, the wsj report said.

The peace summit to be organized by Saudi Arabia aims to find a way to start negotiations on Russia’s war in the country, a Associated Press indicated report.

The summit will take place in the Red Sea port city of jeddah.

Among the invitees, it is not yet clear if all will attend the peace talks summit. However, countries that participated in a similar round of talks in Copenhagen in June are expected to do so again.

Britain, South Africa, Poland and the EU are among those who have confirmed their attendance and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is expected to attend.

The encounter, which excludes Russia It is expected to strengthen international support for peace terms that favor Ukraine.

The planning of the event is being supervised by Kyiv and Russia is not invited, access point reported citing an official who is familiar with the events.

News of the summit comes after US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan visited the kingdom on Thursday.

The reception of the talks by Saudi Arabia comes as President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in May he attended an Arab League summit in Jeddah to pressure those nations to back Kiev.

The Arab nations have remained largely neutral since Russia launched the war against Ukraine in February 2022, partly because of its military and economic ties to Moscow.

Saudi Arabia has also maintained a close relationship with Russia as part of the OPEC group. The organization’s oil production cuts, even as Moscow’s war on Ukraine raised energy prices, have angered Biden and US lawmakers.

But organizing such talks also helps raise the profile of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has sought to reach a détente with Iran and push for a peace in the kingdom’s years-long war in Yemen.

However, ties also remain strained between Riyadh and the West over the 2018 assassination and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, which US intelligence agencies believe was ordered by the Prince. Mohammed.

(With contributions from agencies)

Updated: Jul 30, 2023 2:58 PM IST