The recent talks in Jeddah about the war in Ukraine ended without a joint statement from the more than 40 participating governments and was followed by more days of slaughter on the battlefield. But the meeting was an important step in the search for an international consensus on how to bring the conflict to an end without violating Ukraine’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Ukraine took part in the meeting, which was convened by Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed an Arab League summit in Jeddah last May. Russia was not invited and Moscow dismissed the event as a doomed attempt to swing the Global South behind Ukraine.
Many of the countries from the Global South which have declined to take sides in the war joined Ukraine and its western backers in Jeddah. China, which stayed away from talks in Copenhagen two months ago, sent its special envoy on Eurasian affairs Li Hui to the Saudi meeting.
There is no prospect of peace negotiations until it becomes clear how successful Ukraine’s counteroffensive has been. And each side has set out preconditions for the start of talks. Kyiv has ruled out any peace talks until Russia withdraws all its forces from Ukrainian territory. Moscow says it will not start talks until Kyiv recognises Russia’s claim to the Ukrainian territories it has annexed, including places its military does not control.
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Ukraine’s 10-point peace plan, which has the support of the western powers, was on the agenda in Jeddah but it is one of a number of proposals. China’s 12-point plan echoes Kyiv’s call for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries to be effectively upheld.
China’s plan calls for a de-escalation of the conflict and an early ceasefire, so that peace talks can begin. If a consensus is to be found between the western powers and the Global South, it is likely to be in the space between China’s call for an unconditional ceasefire and Ukraine’s demand for a complete Russian withdrawal first.
China’s foreign minister Wang Yi called his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov the day after the meeting to assure him that Beijing remained neutral in the conflict. And Chinese state media dismissed western speculation about a shift in the country’s position on the war.
The Jeddah meeting came as Washington and Beijing began a fragile diplomatic re-engagement and as it becomes clear that an early end to the war is in the interest of both superpowers.
The participants set up working groups on issues including nuclear safety, food security and prisoners of war and agreed to meet again in the coming months. The outcome of this diplomatic activity is uncertain but the very fact of it may be an important first step towards bringing a just and lasting peace to Ukraine.