Saudi Arabia hosts Ukraine peace talks. The war ravaged country has proposed 10-point peace formula at the meet. National security advisors from 40 countries are attending the meeting…reports Asian Lite News
Ukraine has proposed a 10-point peace formula at talks in Saudi Arabia. National security advisors 40 countries including the US, China and India met in Jeddah for discussions that Ukraine and its allies.
A source from the Ukrainian delegation told Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath that the proposals were “supported by several countries.”
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is leading Washington’s delegation to the Saudi city, a senior White House official said. India’s national Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui are attending the meeting.
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The two-day meeting is part of a diplomatic push by Ukraine to build support beyond its core Western backers by reaching out to Global South countries to help reach a solution to the conflict, which has hit the global economy.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office said this week that the meeting would focus on the 10-point peace formula that calls for the full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.
The Jeddah meeting follows talks in Copenhagen in June that were designed to be informal and did not yield an official statement, and the Ukrainian source said the 10-point formula “received more support than in Copenhagen.”
The meeting highlights Saudi Arabia’s “readiness to exert its good offices to contribute to reaching a solution that will result in permanent peace”, the official Saudi Press Agency said.
In May, the Kingdom hosted Zelensky at an Arab summit also in Jeddah, where he accused some leaders of turning “a blind eye” to the horrors of Russia’s invasion.
India’s Stance
India’s National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval has said that India has engaged with both Russia and Ukraine on a regular basis at the top most level, ever since the conflict between the nations broke out.
Doval was quoted as saying at the summit by reports that India supports the global order as framed on the principles of UN charter. He emphasised on all nations respecting each others’ territorial sovereignty and that efforts to maintain peace should be pursued to find a peaceful end to the ongoing conflict between the two nations, reports quoting him as saying.
The NSA also noted that the entire Global South is bearing the consequences of the conflict, however India is providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine, as it has always believed in promoting dialogue and diplomacy.
Doval is learnt to have said that the NSAs’ meeting faces a two-fold challenge — resolution of the situation and softening the consequences of the conflict, and efforts are needed on both fronts. This, he is said to have observed, will require a lot of groundwork as despite efforts to provide peaceful solutions to both the nations, none have borne fruit.
Doval said that the Jeddah meet should look for a solution which is acceptable to all stakeholders, reports said.
Cost of War
Ukraine’s conflict-related budget expenditures will reach about 1.8 trillion hryvnia (about 49.2 billion U.S. dollars) this year, the government press service reported, citing Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
“A hundred percent of taxes paid by businesses and citizens go to support the needs of the security and defense forces,” Shmyhal said.
Besides, Ukraine has already attracted 28 billion dollars in financial aid from partners this year, he added.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Ukraine’s military expenditures reached about 44 billion dollars last year.
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