ANKARA, August 11. /TASS/: Turkey may play host to the third round of consultations on resolving the Ukraine crisis following the last meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Turkish daily Hurriyet reported.
According to an article in the newspaper, the next meeting is scheduled for October. The article notes that, "it should not be surprising if Turkey becomes the host of the third round." Ankara, as mentioned, fully supports these initiatives because, among other factors, it is a country that "can openly and clearly speak to all sides" of the conflict. Specifically, at the Jeddah confab, Turkey stated that, "certain steps should be taken towards Russia" in the context of a renewed Black Sea grain deal. In addition, the Turkish side, as Hurriyet states, insisted during the Saudi round of consultations that, "results cannot be achieved without involving Russia in the process." China expressed a similar position. Germany, on the other hand, believes that it would be inappropriate to include Russia in this consultation format at this stage, but Moscow can join "at the right time" after the conditions are created for its participation.
The consultations in Jeddah on August 5-6 were attended by representatives of more than 40 countries and international organizations including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Qatar, Great Britain, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, as well as the United Nations.
Russia did not receive an invitation. According Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the meeting in Saudi Arabia was an attempt to create an anti-Russian coalition but would not prove entirely useless if it could help the West to understand the futility of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's peace plan. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov in turn stated that Russia will discuss the Ukraine consultations with its BRICS partners that participated in the meeting. He also expressed the view that Western efforts to mobilize Global South support for the Ukrainian president's formula are doomed to fail.
