Saudi Arabia played a pivotal role in bringing together senior officials and representatives from more than 40 countries in the port city of Jeddah to discuss the Ukraine peace plan. This was second meeting of its kind after Copenhagen meet in June. At a stage when it is still impossible for Russia and Ukraine to negotiate directly to end the conflict, the meeting was a convincing way to expand contacts aimed at achieving gradual solutions.
The Copenhagen meeting lacked a certain level of representation and tangible results. On the contrary, the Jeddah meeting was able to produce specific visions for future efforts to resolve the conflict by establishing working groups at the level of national security advisors. China – represented by Li Hui, the Special Representative of the Government of China for Eurasian Affairs – appeared positive. He welcomed the idea of holding a third meeting at the level of the Jeddah meeting. It was China’s another step forward to play a constructive role in the search for common ground regarding the conflict since Li’s visit to Ukraine and Russia and several European countries in May.
The Jeddah meeting should be the beginning of a new attempt by the international community to form a multilateral platform, where senior officials at the level of national security advisors, or those with the ability to address national and international security issues with their heads of state, are supposed to build a consensus on what it means security today and tomorrow.
[by Becky Shin in Al-Majalla]
Compiled and Translated by Faizul Haque
