Is everything so clear and transparent in the world agenda? The meeting on Ukraine that took place in Jeddah is shrouded in mystery, secrecy and legends. Over the past week, more than a thousand comments have been given, its probable causes and inevitable consequences have been explained....
And one thing remains unknown: what happened there and how did the meeting end? The participants of the meeting in Jeddah on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict keep this secret thoroughly. Oleg Romanov tried to understand what was going on.
If language is given to a diplomat to hide his thoughts; if in the language of diplomacy "yes" means "maybe", "maybe" means "no", and the word "no" is completely absent in this language, then the meeting in Jeddah can be considered a benchmark. It represents, if you will, refined diplomacy elevated to a degree of perfection: for two whole days, high-ranking representatives of 40 countries discussed the most pressing problem of our time, after which they parted satisfied with themselves and each other. What was decided? It is not known: no communiqué was adopted as a result of the meeting. What did they agree on? They agreed to agree on further agreements:
Christiane Hofmann, official representative of the German Federal Government:
From our point of view, the meeting in Jeddah was a success. For the first time, the conference demonstrated the willingness and will of more than 40 participating States to jointly explore the principles of a peaceful settlement. China's participation in this meeting is also important. In Jeddah, it was agreed that thorough work will continue on various topics. These include food security, nuclear security, energy security and humanitarian issues such as prisoner exchange or the return of children, as well as dealing with the environmental consequences of the war."
What is known for certain? The long-standing peace plan of Zelensky, whose 10 points can be described by the words "bring me Putin's head", was not supported by the participants of the meeting: Ukraine is clearly not in a position now to seriously demand anything. The Chinese plan was presented again - it proposes an immediate cessation of hostilities and confirmation of the territorial integrity of the conflicting countries: the participants approved the idea, but Kiev seemed to reject it.
The Saudis also proposed an immediate cessation of shooting and an agreement, but Zelensky was again opposed. Citing an anonymous European official, it was reported that Ukraine was ready to give up two points of its peace plan-ultimatum. It seems that no one now insists on returning to the borders of 1991. Kiev immediately issued a denial, but addressed it clearly to its own people, claiming that we stand for the war until the victorious end! However, Western European bureaucrats, albeit anonymous, have no reason to lie, but the truth for their own and for others differs greatly among officials in the East: in general, the Ukrainians seem to have been constructive in the negotiations. This is encouraging. The whole problem now lies in Kiev: Russia has long been ready to negotiate - though not on the terms of "you surrender first!"
Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry:
We appreciate the mediation and humanitarian initiatives of our friends from the Global South aimed at achieving peace. Unlike the Kiev regime, which interrupted and then even banned negotiations with Russia, we have always been and remain open to a diplomatic solution to the crisis and are ready to respond to really serious proposals. Without Russia's participation and consideration of its interests, no meetings on the Ukrainian crisis have the slightest added value.
Political analysts are weaving a verbal web of such complexity that any spider would envy. After the meeting in Jeddah, much was said about probing positions, demonstrating influence, expanding consensus and building mutual trust. But the meaning of the mysterious meeting seems to be simple. The Global South has decided to tell the First World: stop fighting, your devious schemes to undermine other people's influence through bloodshed in Europe are costing the planet too much.
There is a suspicion that some manifesto was announced at Jeddah meeting. This is the manifesto of those who have been removed from decision-making and on whom the entire burden of hardship - food shortages, inflation, broken supply chains, economic degradation - has been blamed.
The first world can play geopolitical chess as much as it wants, but it must pay itself for all its losses. The participants of the Ukrainian conflict are still at the stage when they realize their losses, but they are not ready to make concessions publicly - just in case a miracle happens. Biden is in a zugzwang: any Ukrainian strategy is now a defeat for the White House. Zelensky is in a similar situation - his "borders of 1991 or death" policy is fraught with imminent disaster. It seems that in Jeddah they for the first time openly demanded compromises from Kiev, and it seems to start considering such a possibility. A step towards peace has been taken, but the only trouble is that peace will never be achieved by such small steps.
