Bloomberg: The United States held a secret meeting with allies on Ukraine in Riyadh
A secret meeting between the United States and Ukraine’s Western allies on the “peace formula” took place on December 16, 2023 in Saudi Arabia, Bloomberg sources confirmed. However, the parties failed to achieve significant progress during the discussion.
According to the agency’s interlocutors, the secret format allowed the participants to “more freely and frankly” discuss the peace initiative, as well as the prospects for interaction with Russia in the future. Saudi Arabia, India and Turkey also took part in the meeting, while China, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates did not send representatives to it.
Photo: Mohammed Benmansour / Reuters
During the discussion, Ukraine's allies tried to drum up support for negotiations with Russia on Kyiv's terms, while countries in the Global South called for direct engagement with Moscow on the issue. Nevertheless, Western countries confirmed their commitment to the territorial integrity of Ukraine, assuring that they would continue to support Kyiv.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced the secret meeting at the end of December.
Photo: Ilya Pitalev / RIA Novosti
On December 28, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced a secret meeting of Western countries on Ukraine. According to him, some countries refused the invitation.
It took place in complete secrecy, nothing was reported about it anywhere, no leaks were made
The minister called the formula of the Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky a figment of a sick imagination, and the intention to force Russia to return to the borders of 1991, as well as the West’s attempts to impose peace negotiations on Moscow on Kyiv’s terms, as a scam and manipulation.
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi / Reuters
Zelensky called the issue of negotiations with Russia irrelevant
The President of Ukraine said that he does not see any fundamental steps on the part of Moscow regarding peace negotiations. He also accused Russia of intensifying attacks on Ukrainian cities.
If Russia is sending signals that it wants to freeze the conflict, as some Western media report, it is not because it wants peace, but because it lacks missiles, ammunition or trained troops. They need this break to recuperate.
At a press conference on December 19, Zelensky also called the issue of negotiations with Russia irrelevant. He spoke about the work on a unified position of Ukraine and 50 countries on the “peace formula”.
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