RIYADH: The Ukrainian ambassador to Saudi Arabia has thanked the Kingdom for hosting talks aimed at finding a peaceful resolution to Russia’s war in his country.
In a statement given to Arab News, Petrenko Anatolii said the talks in Jeddah, which started on Saturday, had been “constructive.”
“First of all, I’d like to thank Saudi Arabia for being so committed and hospitable to Ukraine in moving forward our peace formula plan,” he said.
“With Saudi support, we succeeded in bringing together national security advisers from 42 countries.”
Ukraine proposed its widely expected 10-point peace formula at the discussions, which a source from the Ukrainian delegation told Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath were “supported by several countries.”
President Volodomyr Zelensky said he wanted a global summit to take place based on the formula later this year.
“The last two days have proven to be constructive. A broad vision is in place and we collectively make gradual progress in preparation of the (upcoming) global summit, which is considered to be the focal point to start implementing the peace formula,” Anatolii said.
He added that the key objectives following the two-day talks remained to “stop military aggression against Ukraine, to restore territorial integrity and sovereignty, to kick-start the economic recovery of Ukraine and, of course, to bring confidence into the UN charter and international law.”
Zelensky’s head of staff Andriy Yermak said in a statement: “We had very productive consultations on the key principles on which a just and lasting peace should be built.”
Yermak said different viewpoints emerged during the talks in Saudi Arabia, calling them “an extremely honest, open conversation.”
He said all the countries present had demonstrated a commitment to the principles of international law and respect for the sovereignty and inviolability of the territorial integrity of states.
Russia did not attend the discussions but the Kremlin said it would “closely monitor” the proceedings.
A US official on Sunday expressed Washington’s appreciation to Riyadh for hosting the talks, describing them as “constructive,” according to an Al-Arabiya report.
“It was a good and constructive set of conversations with a range of countries who came together to exchange views and build common ground in support of a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, discuss how to end the war in Ukraine and address the practical consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine and around the world,” the person said.
“We were glad that more than 40 countries attended the talks and benefited from the chance to hear directly from Ukraine about the war and to exchange views.”