Saudi Arabia to host Ukraine's peace talks as part of Global South's activities

This is reported by Bloomberg. 

According to a person familiar with the situation, the Saudi government has invited national security and diplomatic advisers from Ukraine, some of Kyiv's main allies, and others in the Group of 20 such as India, Brazil, and China. According to the source, more than a dozen countries have been invited to participate, including Turkey, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and the European Union. Russia was not invited.

The world's largest developing economies have stayed relatively neutral in the face of Russia's invasion of its neighbor, and the US and the EU have been attempting to persuade those countries not to assist President Vladimir Putin in sustaining his war machine. 

"The meeting, which follows a similar gathering in Copenhagen in June, is expected to discuss Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace formula and the Ukrainian president’s effort to hold a global summit on the proposals later this year. China was invited to the meeting in Denmark but didn’t attend," the publication writes. 

Zelenskyy's 10-point plan demands for Russian soldiers to leave Ukraine entirely, the release of all prisoners of war and deportees, and the provision of food and energy security. It would also include security assurances for Ukraine when the battle is over, as well as restoring safety surrounding the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which he claims is under threat from Russian sabotage.

The meeting's final attendance list has yet to be finalized and may change. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the gathering.

"Kyiv’s key allies are trying to establish broad-based support for Zelenskiy’s proposal ahead of any potential peace summit. Engagement with the global south was a key goal of a Group of Seven summit held in Japan in May, where Zelenskiy also met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Bloomberg reports. 

Andriy Yermak, the head of the President's Office, said on Sunday that Ukraine is discussing its draft with more than 50 countries and hopes to get an agreement on a draft law that national leaders can examine by the end of the year.

Beijing and others have also proposed their own peace offers and diplomatic measures to end the war, however these are ambiguous about Russia's withdrawal from Ukraine. So far, Putin has shown little interest in genuine talks based on his soldiers leaving Ukraine.

Russia will follow the planned summit in Saudi Arabia, though it is unclear what the organizers intend to address, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. 

"Saudi Arabia has maintained strong ties with Russia since the invasion and sees Moscow as a crucial ally in balancing the global oil market. The two countries together head the OPEC+ alliance of producers," according to Bloomberg. 

At the same time, the kingdom is increasingly attempting to present itself as a diplomatic force under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and has stated its desire to mediate between Ukraine and Russia.

It hosted Zelenskyy at an Arab summit in May, also in Jeddah. Earlier this year, Riyadh's foreign minister visited Kyiv and committed USD 400 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Last year, Saudi Arabia also assisted in arranging POW exchanges between the two countries.