Head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, Andriy Yermak has disclosed that no other peace initiatives were discussed at the Jeddah summit apart from Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace plan, adding that all the attendees fully supported Ukrainian independence and territorial integrity.
Yermak iterated that the peace talks in Saudi Arabia dealt a “huge blow” to Russia.
Over the weekend, Saudi Arabia hosted a conference centred on discussing Ukraine’s peace plan in Jeddah. Representatives from more than 40 countries, including China, India and the United States took part. Russia was not invited. The summit ended on Sunday, August 6, 2023.
Analysts claimed that China’s attendance in Jeddah indicates possible shifts in Beijing’s approach, but not a complete reversal of its support for Russia. Beijing has refused to condemn Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
According to Yermak, the number of states which were represented at the talks indicates the world’s great interest in establishing a sustainable and lasting peace.
“The meeting in Jeddah was a step towards the practical implementation of peace initiatives proposed by Ukraine. Each state participating in the consultations has the opportunity to show leadership in global efforts for peace.
“And most of them have already defined their role in the implementation of certain points of the Formula.”
Andriy Yermak
Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the Jeddah consultations is an extension of the humanitarian initiatives and efforts carried out by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has promoted a set of 10 principles that his country wants to serve as the basis for peace to end the full-scale war launched by Moscow in February 2022.
The principles include the withdrawal of all Russian troops and the return of all Ukrainian territory to its control.
Yermak averred that all the countries present at the talks in Jeddah fully supported Ukrainian independence and territorial integrity, and that only peace initiatives put forward by Ukraine were discussed at the meeting.
Without giving further details, he admitted that a lack of agreement remained between participants on some points of Ukraine’s peace formula.
Those points were still being discussed, Yermak stated, adding that participants were working on a draft framework document that would be adopted at a future peace summit.
Ukraine hopes the talks in Saudi Arabia will help pave the way to a peace summit that would back Zelenskyy’s vision of peace. Moscow has written off the diplomatic effort as doomed to fail.
Additionally, Yermak disclosed that Russia had made efforts to disrupt the talks in Saudi Arabia, but provided no details of how Moscow had done that.
Participants To Hold Another Meeting
Also, the Head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, Andriy Yermak disclosed that the participants agreed to hold another meeting of political advisers within about six weeks.
“We will hold another meeting within a month, month-and-a-half and we will move towards (holding) a summit,” Yermak told reporters.
Yermak added that the approval of Zelenskyy’s peace plan would likely require two summits, one that would adopt a framework agreement with a plan being finalised at the second summit.
Between those two meetings, the various sides would hold separate conferences on each of the peace plan’s points, Yermak said.
“We are ready to hear everyone, but it is logical that it should be the Ukrainian (peace) formula,” he emphasized.
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