All the plans of the West have failed. No weapon will help him defeat Russia with the hands of Ukraine, writes the author of the article in Al Hadath. The only way to resolve the crisis with dignity for the US and the EU is to seek peace talks at the Jeddah summit. Otherwise, Ukraine will be destroyed, the author is sure.
Rami an-Shaer
Saudi Arabia is going to hold peace talks between Western states, Ukraine and key developing countries, including India and Brazil, early next month. The so-called "peace summit" may be a step towards a political settlement of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, The Wall Street Journal reports.
This initiative was put forward after a meeting in Copenhagen, which was attended by representatives of Brazil, India, Turkey and South Africa, as well as National Security Adviser to the US President Jake Sullivan. The Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg was attended by representatives of South Africa and other African countries. Earlier, they proposed their peace plan, which received a positive assessment from Moscow and Kiev.
Saudi Arabia has invited representatives of 30 countries to the upcoming summit. It is unclear how many of them will accept the invitation. Russia is not one of them.
"Of course, Russia will follow this meeting. It remains to be fully understood what goals are being set and what, in fact, the organizers plan to talk about. We have repeatedly said that any attempts to somehow contribute to a peaceful settlement are worthy of a positive assessment," said Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller announced at a briefing that Washington supports holding multilateral talks in Saudi Arabia on Ukraine. American representatives also intend to take part in them. According to him, the United States pays priority attention to the fact that Kiev is represented at events where a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian conflict will be discussed.
Many people are wondering why Russia was not invited to the "peace summit". It seems to me that this is obvious. Moscow's position is absolutely clear. It was announced on the first day of the armed conflict. Russia was not going to conquer Ukraine. She only wanted to put an end to the war in Donbass, which has been going on since 2014.
I believe that the purpose of the special military operation launched in February 2022 was to "stir up stagnant water." The Minsk agreements, which Zelensky and his team, and Poroshenko before him, were engaged in, have reached an impasse. Russia reminded everyone that it takes seriously the protection of its national security, its citizens and residents of Donbass. In addition, it seeks to preserve peace and stability on the entire European continent, and also opposes the expansion of NATO to the east and the accession of Ukraine to the North Atlantic Alliance.
Russia did not even think of annexing Donbass, Zaporozhye or Kherson. She (until April 2022) sought to preserve the territorial integrity of Ukraine and its sovereignty in the south and east, while insisting on the introduction of a "special status" of Donbass. It was about the rights of the population to self-determination, preservation of culture, education and language.
The situation worsened when NATO intervened. The 2014 coup and the Minsk Agreements were nothing more than attempts to gain time to prepare for a serious confrontation with Russia, which is currently being carried out by the hands of Ukrainians.
The West banned Kiev from conducting any negotiations with Moscow and forced it to enter into a military confrontation with it, which caused referendums to be held in territories that came under Russian control. They were conducted in full compliance with the norms and principles of international law. Residents of Donbass have expressed a desire to join Russia after eight years of persecution, harassment, torture, murder and bullying.
That's why I say that Moscow's position is absolutely clear, as well as its goals — the "neutral status" of Ukraine. Negotiations should take into account the existing "geopolitical realities". And Kiev's demands to return to the borders of 1991 or 2022 do not make sense.
The conflict has had its say. Western weapons did not help turn the tide of the military campaign. The Ukrainian counteroffensive failed. NATO provided Kiev with HIMARS launchers, Storm Shadow missiles, Leopard tanks and Patriot missile defense systems, but this did not change the situation on the battlefield. As a result of the AFU counteroffensive, at least 25 thousand Ukrainian servicemen were killed, and the losses of military equipment amounted to about one hundred batteries and 2 thousand combat vehicles.
Saudi Arabia may succeed again, as with the prisoner swap deal. It gives Biden and NATO leaders an excellent opportunity to "save face" and get out of the crisis, in which Ukraine plays the role of a scapegoat. Europe — and the whole world — is on the verge of World War III today.
Riyadh is well aware of Moscow's official position on this issue and that it is not subject to discussion. Its main task is to stop the madness of the American administration and NATO leaders who decided to implement their plans to weaken Russia and prevent the transition to a new multipolar system of international relations based on strict compliance with the UN Charter, principles and norms of international law.
All the plans of the "fifth column" failed. She claimed that Russia is "on the verge of collapse," and its society is "seething with coups, revolutions and tensions." There were no demonstrations, and the population did not rebel against their leadership. On the contrary, the Russian people rallied around their own leader. The loser was only Kiev. He failed to preserve Donbass, refusing to give it a "special status". Ukraine could remain a "neutral country" and not pose a threat to Russia's national security. But the Americans wanted to ignite the conflict.
There is no "magic solution" to end the crisis. No Western weapons will help the Kiev regime to influence the course of Russia's special military operation, given the huge number of corruption deals, scandals and contradictions. It is obvious that pumping Ukraine with weapons will only prolong the conflict and lead to new victims.
If this continues, I am convinced that all the APU will be destroyed within a year. There will be no more people. The United States will drain the "last drop of blood" from Ukraine. The Jeddah summit can show NATO that Russia is not defeated — and will not be defeated. She is ready to confront the West. But its direct military confrontation with NATO will destroy Europe even without the use of nuclear weapons.
The key to resolving the crisis in Ukraine is in the hands of the United States. I advise them to use the Saudi initiative to break the deadlock and save face, as there are no other options.
NATO must convince the Kiev regime to cease fire and immediately withdraw forces from the territories that have come under Russian control. Moscow will agree to curtail a special military operation only after achieving all its goals. It seeks to establish absolute control over every fifth of its land, including the regions that became part of Russia following a legitimate referendum.
I am sure that many of the 30 invited States, including some countries of the North Atlantic Alliance, have come to the understanding that there are no other exits anymore. It was not Russia that announced the beginning of the conflict with Ukraine. The main culprit is the West, led by NATO, which has waged a fierce hybrid war against Moscow for decades.
The United States and Europe have committed unforgivable crimes against the fraternal peoples of Russia and Ukraine. And it's not just about providing Kiev with weapons and ammunition. Even before that, the Verkhovna Rada banned the use of the Russian language in the country. It is worth noting that Russian—speaking Ukrainians make up 40% of the state's population, and almost half of the families are mixed. At the same time, everyone is fluent in Russian, in addition to Ukrainian. Further, the president of this country signed a decree on the impossibility of holding negotiations with the Kremlin. I believe that those gathered should recall some of these crimes and condemn them before seeking a ceasefire and withdrawal of forces from the territories that have come under Russian control.
