Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: After nearly 18 months of relentless and destructive war, Ukraine has termed the fresh round of peace talks hosted by Saudi Arabia “productive” while Russia has called it a “doomed attempt.”
On August 5, the Saudis hosted the National Security Advisors’ Meeting on this matter in their capital Jeddah. NSA Ajit Doval represented India in the meeting, where a 10-point peace formula was deliberated upon..
The conflict started on February 24, 2022, when Russia launched a “special military operation” against Ukraine, hoping it would wrap it up in “48 to 72 hours.” But, despite wanton destruction since and the exodus of millions of refugees pouring into neighboring countries, the Ukrainians have demonstrated amazing fighting-back capabilities, with Western support, and the war continues unabated.
Last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried to dissuade Russian President Vladimir Putin from the conflict, saying the 21st century is “not the era of war.” Other attempts to end the war have also failed.
Now the Saudis are trying to make peace between the two warring neighbors, amid mounting death toll, huge financial losses, and food insecurity facing over 40 countries because of Russia blocking Ukrainian grain from being exported.
According to the media reports on Monday, quoting a senior Ukrainian official, the latest talks in Saudi Arabia to make headway towards a peaceful settlement of the war with Russia had been “productive,” but Moscow called the meeting a “doomed attempt” to rally the Global South behind Kyiv.
Over 40 countries, including India, China, the US, and the European nations—but not Russia—participated in the Saudi Arabia-hosted Jeddah Summit that concluded on Sunday.
Ukraine and its allies called the talks an attempt to secure broad international support for principles that Kyiv wanted to be the basis for peace, including the withdrawal of all Russian troops and the return of all Ukrainian territory to its control, the media reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he wanted a global summit to take place based on those principles later this year.
In Jeddah, the Saudis said participants had agreed on the importance of continuing consultations to pave the way for peace. European officials said participants planned to establish working groups to address specific problems raised by the conflict.
Even after 18 months of the bloody conflict, any prospect of direct peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow appeared remote as fighting raged along the front line, with both sides claiming victory every now and then, here or there.
President Zelenskyy’s head of staff Andriy Yermak said in a statement, “We had very productive consultations (in Jeddah) on the key principles on which a just and lasting peace should be built.”
However, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by state media in Moscow on Sunday as saying the meeting was “a reflection of the West’s attempt to continue futile, doomed efforts” to mobilize the Global South behind Zelenskyy’s position.
Amid the West’s broad support to Ukraine, several countries have been reluctant to take sides even though they want an end to a conflict that has hit the global economy.
The Jeddah talks were different from earlier attempts as China also participated in it. China had stayed away from an earlier round of talks in Copenhagen and shunned Western calls to condemn Russia’s invasion, signaling a possible shift in its stance but not a major change.
The West also emphasized Saudi Arabia’s role in convening a wider group of countries to take part, utilizing its growing relationship with China and its continued ties with both Moscow and Kyiv.
In Kyiv, Yermak said various viewpoints emerged during the Jeddah talks, calling them “an extremely honest, open conversation.”
He said all the participants showed a commitment to the principles of international law and respect for the sovereignty and inviolability of the territorial integrity of states.