Named American negotiator at the “peace summit” on Ukraine in Saudi Arabia

Negotiations in Jeddah will be held without Russian participation

The top US adviser will take part in talks with Saudi Arabia in an attempt to garner support for the Ukraine plan. Kyiv and its patrons seek to win over neutral countries such as Brazil and India and support Kyiv’s proposals for a so-called “just and lasting peace.”

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is expected to attend a meeting in Saudi Arabia this weekend where Ukraine and its allies will try to persuade countries in the global South to support Kiev’s proposals to end the conflict with Russia.

According to officials involved in planning the meeting, the “peace conference” planned in Saudi Jeddah is primarily aimed at distracting neutral countries such as Brazil and India from their approach to Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.

The meeting was convened by the Ukrainian side, and there is speculation that the venue in Saudi Arabia could attract Chinese participation, but there is no confirmation yet that Beijing will send any representatives, The Guardian notes.

Saudi Arabia and Ukraine invited 30 countries, including Indonesia, Egypt, Mexico, Chile and Zambia, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the planned talks.

The meeting of senior security officials is expected to take place in Jeddah, and if Jake Sullivan, US national security adviser, visits in person, it will be his second trip to the Red Sea port city in 10 days. On Thursday, he held talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other Saudi Arabian officials on issues of stability in the Middle East.

“We expect participants to discuss the principles of peace and how we can achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” the US official said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would monitor the meeting, The Guardian notes.

“It remains to be fully figured out what goals are set and what, in fact, the organizers plan to talk about,” Peskov said.

The meeting in Jeddah will be the second in a series of multilateral talks convened by Ukraine in an attempt to expand global support for the 10-point peace plan proposed by Volodymyr Zelensky in December aimed at “restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity” and guaranteeing nuclear, food and energy security.

“Now we are working hard to bring as many partners from the west and the global south as possible into negotiations in [Саудовской Аравии], – Andriy Yermak, head of the office of the President of Ukraine, said on social networks. “Many thanks to the hosts and co-organizers for their dedication.”

The first round of talks took place in Copenhagen at the end of June and was attended by officials from Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey. China was invited but did not attend the meeting in the Danish capital.

Yermak said Ukraine hoped the meetings of national security advisers would eventually lead to a summit built around a Kiev version of the peace deal that would require the withdrawal of Russian troops as a precondition for substantive talks.