Saudi to host talks on Ukraine peace plan. Russia ‘not invited’

Saudi Arabia will host talks on Ukraine’s peace plan with several other countries this weekend in the coastal city of Jeddah, three foreign diplomats in the kingdom have said. The diplomats, who requested anonymity, said that several countries, including the US and European nations, along with Brazil, China and India, had been invited, though it was not immediately clear who would attend.

Russia did not appear to be among those invited. The Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said that “Russia will keep an eye on this meeting” but would need “to fully understand what goals are being set,” Russia’s state-run Tass news agency reported on Monday. Many of the invited countries, and Saudi Arabia, have resisted American and European pressure to isolate Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. News of the talks was first reported by Wall Street Journal, which said that Saudi Arabia would host the meetings on August 5 and 6. It follows a similar event in Copenhagen in June.
On Sunday, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said that a meeting about implementing his country’s plan “to restore lasting and just peace” would be held in Saudi Arabia soon, with the attendance of world leaders’ national security and political advisers. The 10-point Ukrainian plan aims to hold Russia accountable for war atrocities, and it requires Russia to surrender all captured Ukrainian territory and pay damages. Russia has rejected the plan. The Saudi government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The meeting is another example of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman‘s efforts to position himself as a global leader with influence beyond his region – and to carve out a role for Saudi Arabia as a mediator. In May, Crown Prince Mohammed invited President Zelenskyy to make an appearance at a summit of Arab States Like many countries in West Asia, Saudi Arabia maintains close ties with Russia, which coordinates with the kingdom on energy prices as a key member of the OPEC+ cartel of oil exporters.