Saudi Arabia convenes a meeting of 40 countries to discuss the war in Ukraine without inviting Russia

  Saudi Arabia has called a meeting in Jeddah, which has been attended by senior officials from about 40 countries, including Russia, with the aim of proposing the main principles for ending the war between that country and Ukraine. The meeting, which started yesterday Saturday, has also been attended by developing countries, which have been greatly affected by the rise in food prices caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine has welcomed the convening of the meeting saying: "this is very important, because, in issues like food security, the fate of millions of people in Africa, Asia and other parts of the world directly depends on how the world moves forward in implementing the principle of peace". Zelenskyy has said, he hopes the plan will lead to a "peaceful summit" of world leaders this fall to approve regulations, which he believes should be in line with the 10-point settlement plan proposed by Kyiv.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia (left) and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman The settlement plan proposed by Ukraine includes respecting the unity of the entire area of its land and the removal of Russian troops from areas that Moscow says it has annexed as part of its land. The Jeddah meeting did not include Russia, which has rejected the settlement and peace plan proposed by Ukraine. The Kremlin has said it is "closely monitoring" the meeting. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that Russia "will need to understand what goals are set and what will be discussed" at the meeting. Saudi Arabia, which is the largest exporter of crude oil in the world and has close cooperation with Russia in oil policy, is proud of its relationship with Moscow and Kyiv and placed itself in a position to be accepted by both sides to be a mediator in the war in Ukraine. ./