Saudi Arabia has communicated to Russia that the meeting in Jeddah regarding Ukraine was intended to emphasize the pointlessness of discussions in the absence of Moscow's participation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov shared this information during a gathering with students and faculty of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO).
"Our Saudi friends subsequently informed us that they intend to organize another meeting in this format in Jeddah. They emphasized that the purpose of such a gathering is to underscore to the Western participants and Ukraine itself the utter futility of conducting any discussions in the absence of the Russian Federation, as they did during the previous event held in Jeddah," explained the head of the diplomatic department.
Furthermore, the minister highlighted the online meeting of working groups regarding the "Zelensky formula" that took place on August 17. He noted that the Russian side was informed about the involvement of representatives from the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres only after the fact, and these representatives participated in the virtual meetings.
"I met with Mr. Guterres in Johannesburg on the sidelines of the BRICS summit. I candidly expressed to him that this violates all the principles of the secretariat because, according to the charter, the secretariat should remain impartial and not be influenced by any government's instructions. In this case, it's clear which government approached the Secretary-General and prompted him to send his representatives," the Russian foreign minister remarked.
Consultations on the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine took place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from August 5th to 6th. The event saw participation from representatives of over 40 countries and international organizations, including Argentina, Brazil, Britain, Chile, China, Egypt, France, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, Turkey, Ukraine, Qatar, and the United Nations.
Regarding the meeting held in Saudi Arabia, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova commented that Kiev and Western nations, by advocating for Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy's "formula," were attempting to diminish the significance of initiatives put forward by other countries and monopolize the right to propose them.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS