Ukrainian Presidential Office Director Andriy Yermak announced on Monday that there is "disagreement among participants on some points of the Ukrainian peace formula, and discussions are ongoing" following the peace talks regarding the Ukrainian crisis in Jeddah. He mentioned an "agreement to hold another meeting in Jeddah for political advisors within a month." Yermak noted that "participants are working on drafting a framework document to be adopted by a future peace summit," emphasizing that "all participating countries supported Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity."
Yermak confirmed that "no other peace initiatives apart from the Ukrainian ones were discussed in the Jeddah talks." He described the Jeddah meeting as a "major blow" to Russia, stating that Moscow made efforts to obstruct it. He indicated that approval of President Zelensky's peace plan would likely require two summits, the first to adopt a framework agreement and the second to finalize the plan. He mentioned that different parties would hold separate conferences between the summits to discuss each point of the peace plan.
More than 40 countries participated, including China, India, the United States, and European countries excluding Russia, in talks viewed as an attempt by Kyiv to build a broader coalition to support its vision for peace. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promoted a ten-principle plan that Kyiv wants to serve as the basis for peace to end the full-scale war launched by Russia in February 2022. These principles include the withdrawal of all Russian forces from Ukraine and the return of all territories under Kyiv's control.
Regarding China, Foreign Minister Wang Yi informed his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in a phone conversation that China will maintain an independent and neutral position on Ukraine while working hard toward a political resolution of the issue. The Foreign Ministry released Wang's statements in a statement on Monday, mentioning that China will be a "objective and rational voice" in any multilateral international forum and will "strongly encourage peace talks."
The statement came after the ministry earlier today indicated that the discussions helped "enhance international consensus." Analysts noted that China's participation in the Jeddah talks suggests potential shifts in Beijing's approach but does not indicate a change in its support for Moscow. Representing China in Jeddah was its special envoy for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, along with the former ambassador to Russia, who made a tour of six European capitals in May to find common ground for a final political settlement of the ongoing 18-month conflict.
China refuses to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has proposed its own peace plan, which received a lukewarm response from both Russia and Ukraine, as well as skepticism from the United States and NATO. The German government in Berlin stated that the Jeddah conference was successful as it demonstrated the international community's willingness to work towards ending the war.
For its part, the United States considered China's attendance at the Saudi-hosted talks aimed at making progress toward a peaceful settlement of the Russian war in Ukraine to be positive. U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller reported that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland held brief individual meetings with China's special envoy for Eurasian affairs and the former ambassador to Russia, Li Hui, during the Jeddah talks.
