World
US says Ukraine talks in Jeddah ‘constructive,’ thanks Saudi Arabia
A US official on Sunday described Saudi-hosted talks aimed at finding a peaceful resolution to Russia’s war on Ukraine as “constructive,” thanking the Kingdom for hosting the discussions.
Top officials from more than 40 countries, including the US, China and India, gathered in Saudi Arabia’s city of Jeddah on Saturday for a two-day meeting.
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While Russia did not attend the talks, the Kremlin said it would closely monitor the proceedings.
A US official described the talks to Al Arabiya English as “good and constructive.”
“It was a good and constructive set of conversations with a range of countries who came together to exchange views and build common ground in support of a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, discuss how to end the war in Ukraine, and address the practical consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine and around the world,” the official said.
The official expressed Washington’s gratitude to Riyadh for hosting the talks, saying: “We were glad that more than 40 countries attended the talks and benefited from the chance to hear directly from Ukraine about the war and to exchange views.”
The US delegation was led by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, the official said.
Ukraine and its allies have said the talks are an attempt to secure broad international support for principles that Kyiv wants to be the basis for peace, including the withdrawal of all Russian troops and the return of all Ukrainian territory to its control.
President Volodymir Zelenskyy has said he wants a global summit to take place based on those principles later this year.
Speaking about the Jeddah talks, Zelenskiy’s head of staff Andriy Yermak said in a statement: “We had very productive consultations on the key principles on which a just and lasting peace should be built.”
Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by state media 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 Zelenskiy’s position.
Yermak said different viewpoints emerged during the talks in Saudi Arabia, calling them “an extremely honest, open conversation.”
The Jeddah talks come amid Ukrainian efforts to garner support beyond the core Western backers by engaging with Global South nations that have been hesitant to take sides.
With Reuters
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