2023-08-06 20:59:44
The military front is not advancing as Ukraine had hoped when it launched its latest offensive, but the war has many paths and the diplomatic front has taken another step this weekend in its battle to win support beyond its Western allies. The Kiev authorities have repeated the formula used in June in Copenhagen and have brought their decalogue to achieve peace to an international forum that has been hosted by Saudi Arabia on Saturday and Sunday and brought together envoys from more than forty states. As in the Danish capital, there has not been a joint final declaration, but the Ukrainians have highlighted that this time the participation tripled and that “the conversation was extremely honest and open”, in the words of the head of this delegation, Andrii Yermak, for who Jeddah represents “a step towards the practical implementation of the peace initiatives proposed” by his country.
Another big difference between the Saudi event and the previous one in Denmark has been the presence of China. The Asian giant sent its business manager for Eurasia, Li Hui, who “has participated very actively and has been open to the idea of a new meeting at this level,” European sources revealed to the AFP agency. Li spoke to the press ahead of the summit, stating that “we have many disagreements and different positions, but it is important that our principles are shared.”
Countries have been represented at the level of security advisers and foreign policy directors and some of them have taken part online. After the first 24 hours dedicated to the dialogue on the ten points for peace on the Ukrainian path, the second day of the summit has served for the Kiev delegation to hold bilateral meetings with some of the nations present with the aim of “concretizing steps that serve to carry out the peace proposal”, reported the newspaper ‘Ukrainska Pravda’.
«We have many discrepancies and different positions, but it is important that our principles are shared»
The issues to be discussed accumulate on a table in which the ceasefire is the priority and serious problems follow, such as the possible global food crisis after the rupture by the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, of the agreement to export grain from the Ukrainian ports and nuclear security, threatened by the Russian occupation of the Zaporizhia plant, the largest in Europe.
Russian absence
The plan of the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski, is that these forums lead to a great meeting of heads of state, but at the moment there is no clear date on the horizon. The ten conditions that Kiev puts on the table range from the withdrawal of Russian troops to respect for its territorial integrity, positions far removed from a battlefield in which Moscow has managed to occupy a fifth of the neighboring country’s territory.
The Russians are excluded from these forums promoted by Ukraine and participating states such as Brazil recalled that “any real negotiation must include all parties.” The head of the Brazilian delegation, Celso Amorim, issued a statement in which he noted that “although Ukraine is the biggest victim, if we really want peace, we have to involve Moscow in this process in some way.” The format, however, does not seem to be going to change and the objective will be to attract new countries at each summit, never Russia.
“Although Ukraine is the biggest victim, if we really want peace, we have to involve Moscow in this process in some way”
Celso Amorim
brazilian delegation
Moscow’s official position is to open the doors to dialogue, while respecting “the new reality” on the ground left by the last 17 months of war, that is, without accepting the withdrawal from the occupied areas as a prior condition.
The Saudis as a bridge
After this summit, the Saudi path joins the Turkish path as a mediating bridge in a war for which no solution is seen in the short term. Ukraine once again looked at the Gulf three months after Zelensky’s surprise visit to the Arab League and the local press has highlighted that the summit has demonstrated “the kingdom’s willingness to put its good offices into practice to reach a solution that leads to permanent peace.” This peace is far removed from a front line that kyiv is trying to move thanks to the latest counteroffensive. There they trust that the new weapons coming from the West will make a difference on the ground. The problem is that the Russian defense appears solid and that is why there have been no major movements in recent weeks of heavy fighting on the eastern and southern fronts of the country.
The Saudi crown prince, Mohamed Bin Salman (MBS), has taken a radical turn in his foreign policy and with this type of summit he seeks to clean up an image deteriorated by the war in Yemen or the murder and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist critical of the royal house, at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Setting himself up as a mediator in Ukraine and succeeding would be a real endorsement for the young prince and strongest man in the kingdom.
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