MOSCOW, August 1. /TASS/: Saudi Arabia plans to host peace negotiations on Ukraine in early August. Russia has not been invited.
TASS has gathered the key takeaways about the preparations for the talks.
Previous developments
On June 26, Germany’s ARD TV channel reported that an international meeting on Ukraine had taken place in secrecy in the Danish capital of Copenhagen on June 24, gathering Western diplomats along with Brazilian, Indian, Chinese and South African representatives.
On July 20, Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office Andrey Yermak said that Ukraine was preparing to hold another meeting of national security advisors and political directors, which was expected to be attended by representatives from the Group of Seven and the Global South.
On July 29, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources, that a Ukraine-related event bringing together high-ranking officials from 30 countries would be held in the Saudi city of Jeddah on August 5-6.
Meeting participants
South African Presidential Spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed the country will take part in the meeting, but it will send only a representative, not a whole delegation. He added that the representatives of G7 nations, European Union member states, India, Brazil and Turkey will also be represented at the event.
Earlier, the Czech Republic confirmed its intention to take part in the talks. The Brazilian government also announced plans to send its representative to Jeddah.
According to information available to South Africa, an invitation was sent to China but Beijing decided to refrain from participating.
Russia's position
Moscow will follow the peace meeting on Ukraine set to take place in Saudi Arabia, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier. Russia has repeatedly stated that "any attempts to somehow facilitate a peaceful solution are commendable." However, Peskov pointed out that there were currently no conditions for resolving the situation in Ukraine peacefully.
International reaction
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani noted that Tehran welcomed any initiatives aimed at finding a political solution to the conflict in Ukraine.
According to a spokesperson for the Brazilian president's office, Brasilia has informed the organizers that Russia should be present at any talks.
