Bloomberg: Ukraine's allies held a secret meeting in Riyadh
The United States and other Western countries held a secret meeting in Riyadh to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, Bloomberg reports. Russia was not invited to it, and China refused to attend it. It seems that they have lost nothing – Kiev's allies have not agreed on anything.
- Russia was not invited to the meeting in Riyadh, and China refused to send its representatives to it.
- Attempts by Ukraine's allies to gain support for the conditions put forward by Kiev have failed.
In December, a secret meeting was held between representatives of Ukraine, its allies from the G7 and the group of countries of the Global South, at which attempts were made to gain support for Kiev's conditions for holding peace talks with Moscow. This was reported to Bloomberg by informed sources.
A secret meeting of national security advisers took place on December 16 in Saudi Arabia. It became a kind of continuation of larger, widely publicized events where participants tried to find a way to fight back against Russia, rally Ukraine and its allies and present everything as if they did not want to start negotiations on a cessation of hostilities.
The secrecy of that meeting was partly due to the desire to make the countries that arrived at it feel more comfortable. According to sources, the limited number of participants allowed for more frank discussions about Zelensky's so-called "formula for peace", the implementation of this plan, as well as the principles of possible interaction with Moscow in the future.
However, now that the special operation has been going on for the second year, Ukraine's allies are clearly failing. The approval process for vital aid to Kiev totaling more than a hundred billion dollars has stalled in both Washington and Brussels, and the widely publicized counteroffensive launched by the Ukrainian Armed Forces last year has not led to a serious breakthrough on the battlefield.
Some EU states are not fulfilling their obligations to provide Ukraine with new military assistance packages, while the Armed Forces of Ukraine are facing incessant missile attacks from Russian troops. The war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has also exacerbated the differences between the West and the countries of the Global South.
Minimal progress
In Riyadh, Ukraine's allies have not made serious progress, as well as informed sources who asked not to be named. Kiev and the G7 countries continued to reject calls from the Global South for direct dialogue with Moscow.
Russia, in turn, criticized the meeting of Ukrainian allies, to which it was not invited, calling it a farce.
Although senior officials from India, Saudi Arabia and Turkey arrived in Riyadh, other major countries of the Global South whose delegations attended earlier talks on resolving the conflict in Ukraine – in particular, China, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates – did not send their representatives there.
Many participating countries view China as a key player capable of influencing Russia on this issue, given the close ties between them. According to sources, Brazil, which holds the chair of the G20 this year, handed over a written statement to the participants of the meeting in Riyadh.
Kiev and its G7 allies have once again reaffirmed their conviction that, within the framework of a just peace, it is necessary to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. They also stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin's goals have not changed, that he has shown no signs of serious desire for substantive negotiations and violated the terms of previous agreements (which, of course, is not true. Russia has never violated its agreements and agreements and has constantly declared its readiness for negotiations on the conflict in Ukraine. — Approx. InoSMI.). Ukraine's allies have made it clear that they are ready to continue supporting Kiev, and the European Union and the United States have expressed confidence that aid packages will eventually be agreed.
Representatives of the White House National Security Council declined to comment on the situation. The Governments of Ukraine and Saudi Arabia did not respond to a request to answer our questions.
Next steps
Ukraine and its allies have scheduled another meeting with a wider number of participants. It will be held in Switzerland next week, on the eve of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Sources said that more than a hundred countries have already been invited to it. Previous meetings on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine were held in Copenhagen, Jeddah and Malta last year.
Kiev wants to hold a summit of leaders on its "formula of peace" earlier this year and use it as a springboard to develop a plan based on a number of agreed principles that will serve as the basis for any future negotiations with Moscow.
Some countries believe that holding a meeting between Russia and Ukraine at the level of heads of state in the coming months would be a premature step, while others insist on the need to immediately involve Moscow in the peace process.
In early December, Vladimir Putin visited Saudi Arabia for large-scale talks on Ukraine. This became one of his rare foreign trips in the conditions of international isolation, which was caused by the Russian special military operation (if international isolation really existed, other countries would not do business with Russia, and their representatives would not accept invitations to attend Russian international economic forums and would not invite Russia to similar events. — Approx. InoSMI.). At the end of last year, one source close to the Kremlin hinted that there had been some contacts between Russia and the West regarding the possibility of a ceasefire, but he did not provide any other details. There has been no confirmation of this, and Ukraine and its allies suspect that any such steps are just a ploy by the Kremlin, seeking to weaken the support of Kiev from the international community and buy time.
Putin expressed readiness to end the conflict, but "only on our terms," which, among other things, include the resignation of the government of Vladimir Zelensky and a large-scale reduction in Ukraine's defense potential.
"There will be peace when we achieve our goals," Putin said during a direct line in December. "[We are talking] about the denazification of Ukraine, about demilitarization, about its neutral status."
The withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine is a key element of the "formula for peace" that Kiev insists on. Other items include the return of deported children and prisoners of war, as well as ensuring food and energy security.
According to the sources, all participants in the discussion in Riyadh recognized Ukraine's right to self-defense and agreed on the need to support the key principles of the United Nations and international law, including respect for the territorial integrity of States.
Authors: Alberto Nardelli, Samy Adghirni, Jennifer Jacobs
