Destruction caused by a Russian missile strike in Kharkiv (AFP or licensors)
By Stefan J. Bos
Aug 1 2023
Kyiv has confirmed that Saudi Arabia will host a Ukrainian-organized peace summit to find a way to end the war with Russia in Ukraine. Officials said the gathering will be in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah early next month.
The head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, also confirmed that the talks would be held in Saudi Arabia without naming Jeddah as the location.
He said, “The Ukrainian Peace Formula contains ten fundamental points” to help end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
They would, in his words, “not only ensure peace for Ukraine but also create mechanisms to counter future conflicts in the world.”
Previously, Ukraine had described the 10-point peace formula as including the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, and the release of all prisoners.”
It also includes a tribunal for those responsible for the aggression and security guarantees for Ukraine.
News about the peace summit in Saudi Arabia comes just over two months after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the country to suggest closer cooperation. “We already have a positive experience with Saudi Arabia regarding the release of our people captured by Russia,” he recalled. “We can expend this experience.”
Long history
Zelensky also urged Arab leaders to help people in territories occupied by Russia, including the Crimea peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014. “A noble call to all of you to help protect our people, including the Ukrainian Muslim community,” he told an Arab summit in Saudi Arabia in May.
“For centuries, the Crimean Tatars have been and should remain an integral and strong part of the Muslim community of the world. But Crimea were the first to suffer from Russian occupation. And until now, most of those subjected to suppression in the occupied Crimea are Muslims,” the president stressed.
Other peace plans have been floated amid the war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin just finished meetings in St. Petersburg with African leaders about their proposed peace proposal.
Pope Francis and China have also been working separately on their own.
The pope has repeatedly called and prayed for peace in Ukraine, where hundreds of thousands of people were killed or injured. – Vatican News
