"The time of neutrality for countries is long over": Ihor Zhovkva during the Peace Summit in Saudi Arabia
The summit will be attended by representatives of more than 40 countries
This weekend, on August 5-6, a summit will be held in Saudi Arabia to discuss Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's peace plan to resolve the war.
In an interview with Radio Liberty, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva explained what will happen at the summit and what to expect from it.
Who will represent Ukraine?
The Ukrainian delegation will be headed by the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak. The rest of the delegation will be headed by national security advisors, political advisors, and foreign policy advisors.
As of today, we expect more than 40 countries to be represented at the summit in Jeddah tomorrow.
Why Saudi Arabia, which has been "neutral" until now?
The time for neutrality, the time for mediation, the time for mediation has long since ended. Each country makes its own choice in this terrible aggression of the russian Federation against Ukraine, each country gains more and more facts about what is happening in Ukraine.
During the communication between the President of Ukraine and the Crown Prince (...) they talked, for example, about the need to raise humanitarian issues, about the need to return children who were illegally taken by the russian federation either to the occupied territories of Ukraine or even somewhere in the hinterland of russia. And all this was taken very seriously and with concern by Saudi Arabia.
You see, if this is not the first time that this country has hosted a summit with a high Ukrainian delegation, it means that Saudi Arabia made the right choice.
About China
The Chinese side has received an invitation from Saudi Arabia as the organizer of the summit, and the invitation was reinforced by the Ukrainian side. Therefore, we are looking forward to the participation of the Chinese delegation. We hope that it will take place.
Why was russia not invited?
russia has nothing to do at the meeting that will be held. Because this meeting will be attended by countries that do not violate the norms and principles of international law and do not violate the UN Charter. russia cannot be classified as one of these countries at the moment. None of these countries bomb the territories of their neighbors or any other countries day and night.
That is why tomorrow's meeting in Jeddah will be attended by those countries that share the civilizational principles of coexistence, that do not violate the humanitarian principles of warfare, that really want peace in Ukraine, not just declaratively.
On the grain deal and food security
The Grain Initiative of Ukraine and the Grain from Ukraine program have been operating for a year now. During this time, more than 32 million tons of Ukrainian grain have been exported, including to the countries of the Global South. Our main goal is to export grain to the poorest countries in Asia and Africa. And it has worked successfully.
Today, for obvious reasons, when the aggressor country withdrew from its agreement with Turkey and the UN, this initiative is under threat.
Look at how sharply the President of South Africa reacted in St. Petersburg at the so-called russia-Africa summit to the handouts from the president of the aggressor country: let us give you some of it for free.
As for the rest of the points of Zelensky's peace plan, the withdrawal of russian troops and the cessation of hostilities, etc.
It is absolutely acceptable that the countries of the Global South will not participate in the organization of all 10 principles of the Ukrainian peace formula. This is absolutely normal. Therefore, one of the tasks of the Jeddah summit will be to distribute responsibility between countries for co-organization or co-leadership in this or that point. If China is talking about nuclear safety, then China, for example, can absolutely be a co-leader in item No. 1 on nuclear safety. And if Brazil is concerned with environmental issues, it can easily be a co-leader, a co-organizer in item No. 8. This is a normal practice. We understand the different positions of each country.
But none of them, none of the leaders, has expressed any objection to the need for the Ukrainian peace formula.
Why has Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman never come to Ukraine?
Because, obviously, the schedules do not coincide. As soon as they do, he will definitely come. I think that when you see the crown prince in Ukraine, you will definitely see this.
Background. China has confirmed that it will send a representative to discuss Zelensky's peace plan in Saudi Arabia. The Arab country was chosen as the venue for the summit precisely with the expectation of involving China in the negotiations
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