#Riyadh Summit

[poliphoon]

Ukrainians are the losers in Riyadh

Vladimir Putin looks confident. In Riyadh, where American and Russian officials are immersed in the so-called peace talks, the Russian president is trying to show he has the upper hand. His staying power, despite Ukraine’s now-on and now-off show of strength, proves he is adept at playing the game. This is a worry for Ukraine and the West.

[kirstythejetblackgoldfish]

[girlactionfigure]

There was a lot of anti-Israel rhetoric from the Arab League and Organization for Islamic Cooperation summit in Riyadh.

But interestingly, none of the big anti-Israel resolutions were able to pass. All of them, including an Iranian motion to designate the IDF as a terrorist organization, were blocked by several Arab states, including Saudi Arabia.

[vyorei]

Saudi Arabia will have a summit on Saturday fostering a unified front between the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in relation to the genocide of Gaza

[gurutrends]

Tinubu To Push For Ceasefire, Two-State Solution To Israel-Palestine Crisis At Riyadh Arab-Islamic Summit

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu is set to call for an immediate ceasefire and a peaceful resolution to the ongoing Israel-Palestinian conflict at the forthcoming Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh.   “Nigeria will also advocate for renewed efforts to revive the two-state solution as a pathway for lasting peace in the region,” stated presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga.   The annual summit, which…

[ahaura]

(Nov. 11)

@Lowkey0nline: At the Islamic-Arab summit in Riyadh, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia rejected a draft proposal for an oil embargo and ban on the US using their airspace to transport arms to Israel.

[affairsmastery]

High-stakes talks between the US and Russia on the Ukraine war are set to begin in Saudi Arabia within the hour. US officials emphasize this is not a negotiation but a test of Russia's seriousness about ending the conflict, while Russia frames it as a step toward normalizing relations.

The meeting also aims to pave the way for a potential Trump-Putin summit in Riyadh, following their recent call. Meanwhile, European leaders convened in Paris for urgent Ukraine discussions, and UK PM Keir Starmer floated the idea of post-war troop deployment, though Germany called it "premature." Starmer also stressed the need for a US-backed peace guarantee, potentially involving air support or intelligence. Stay tuned for updates from Riyadh.

[darkmaga-returns]

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on his official plane preparing to fly to Saudi Arabia for high-level talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Just days after President Trump announced that he held a productive ninety minute phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and was planning his first summit with Putin in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to discuss a peace framework to end the war in Ukraine. Politico reported over the weekend that a US delegation including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff, who was able to secure a cease-fire agreement pausing the Gaza war after only three and a half hours meeting with the Israelis, will meet with a Russian delegation in Saudi Arabia. Hopefully, he will ask Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to participate in the next round of peace talks now that she has been confirmed, given she has a much better understanding of Russia and how to end the war in Ukraine than anyone else on the US negotiation team. Russian leaders have suggested that agreeing on a peace framework will be necessary before a cease-fire can be implemented as the prelude to the signing of a final peace agreement ending the war within the next few months.

[mariacallous]

In March 2018, an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner took off from New Delhi bound for Tel Aviv. This not only marked the first commercial flight between the two capitals, but more importantly, it became the first service to Israel allowed to cross Saudi Arabia’s airspace. This was the outcome of deft diplomacy, and it happened two years before the Abraham Accords were signed, offering the first preview of the “new” Middle East—one anchored around connectivity, wealth, business, and technology instead of ideology, conflict, and confrontation.

Today, the news from the region is more grim than it has been for years. A broader Israel-Iran conflict has taken center stage, Gaza’s civilians are returning to decimated neighborhoods amid a tenuous Israel-Hamas cease-fire agreement, and the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria has exacerbated regional tensions.

The recent killing, by unconfirmed perpetrators, of Zvi Kogan, a 28-year-old Israeli Moldovan rabbi and emissary for Chabad Lubavitch in Abu Dhabi, has been classified as a terrorist attack by Israel. For Israelis, the Kogan murder case challenged a view of Dubai as an oasis of stability and security for everyone, including Jews. This underscores how the Israel-Hamas war has derailed the Israeli Arab rapprochement that characterized the heady days after the Abraham Accords, when Israeli tourists flocked to Dubai as if it were a European capital.

For a country like the United Arab Emirates—which has promoted pluralism and intra-religious harmony by way of inaugurating both a synagogue and Hindu temple on its soil—protecting sociopolitical gains is critical.

But did the very idea of a “new” Middle East—glimpses of which can be seen in the skyscrapers of Dubai and the blueprints of Neom, the futuristic city envisioned by the Saudis—die on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas conducted its audacious terror strike against Israel?

For a long time, the meteoric economic rise of countries like the UAE occurred largely because of their own government’s individual policies. However, regional progress today may well demand a rethink in Arab capitals regarding the importance of resolving the Palestine question once and for all.

Many scholars, intellectuals, and politicians believe that confronting aspects of the “old” Middle East that were ignored, like the status of the Palestinian territories and the political rights of Palestinians, is now central to any cohesive forward movement for the Arab world, Israel, and Iran alike. There are also those, such as scholar Marwan Kabalan, who believe that Oct. 7 was partly, if not entirely, designed to derail the progress being made, such as a potential Saudi-Israel normalization and the success of bigger geoeconomic ideas, such as the envisioned India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) announced on the sidelines of a G-20 summit in 2023.

The latest war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, as well as its extension into Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, has also rapidly reoriented the regional policies of the Arab states. The chain reaction of events—ranging from the China-brokered detente between Riyadh and Tehran to a rapid disintegration of the Assad family’s control of Syria after more than 50 years of iron-fisted rule—have once again placed the Palestinian cause front and center. The Palestinians have often been used as a crisis of convenience for management of regional politics, including by Arab states. But this is now bound to change with Palestinian self-determination once again finding a global audience.

The Abraham Accords, signed in 2020 by a cluster of Arab states led by the UAE and Israel, sought to normalize political and diplomatic relations and set out a path toward a new regional order. Prosperity, economic progress, developmental integration—in other words, money—is the mantra today.

Regional powers such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia are hedging their bets on allies and pursuing strategic autonomy. In addition to close ties with the United States, they are expanding trade and political outreach with both China and Russia. In July, the air forces of the UAE and China held their second annual joint exercise in the restive Chinese region of Xinjiang, where Beijing has committed itself to systematic and violent repression of its Uyghur Muslim population.

Satellite images that captured these exercises show that the UAE flew its predominantly Western military equipment, including French-made Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft and U.S.-made C-17 Globemaster heavy transport aircraft, deep into Chinese territories. In former U.S. President Joe Biden’s framing of international relations—of an unfolding “democracy verses autocracy” contestation—Arab monarchies have found a sweet spot to thrive in.

The Middle East’s regional disorder has a different and older rulebook to it, where long-standing Western interference in both good and bad faith—led by a wish to reshape regional politics as per the requirements of Washington, London, or Paris—has failed to create outcomes leading to sustainable progress.

The recurring issue of establishing a sovereign Palestinian state is a prime example of the old rulebook’s return.

Iran, as part of its two long-term strategies of supporting an Axis of Resistance along with maintaining a “forward defense” posture, has used the Palestinian cause for its own ends—backing both Hamas and Hezbollah.

Israel’s assassinations of top Hamas and Hezbollah officials in recent months has dealt serious blows to Iran’s regional strategy, but Iran has had some victories away from the battlefield. Its normalization with Saudi Arabia is a merger of the old with the new. For the moment, the Saudis have stepped away from the idea of normalizing ties with Israel, and in return, Saudi oil facilities—which were attacked by Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen in 2019—have been spared since.

While this does not mean the fundamentals of Saudi-Iran rivalry have been resolved, Riyadh has pushed itself toward neutrality, rather than overt confrontation, to protect its own ongoing economic, political, and ideological diversification.

Amid all these interplays, the return of U.S. President Donald Trump is the proverbial joker in the deck. While it is true that Trump’s own preference for personality over policy may see him push all parties, including Israel, for de-escalation and long-term cease-fires, he is not expected to return U.S. intervention to the era of boots on the ground or even put promotion of democracy at the forefront.

But Trump is also what is known in Persian as a bazaari, meaning one who is always looking for a good deal. The Arabs, Israelis, and Iran alike are cognizant of this trait. In part, this may be a reason why Iran could remain content as a threshold nuclear state to try and box Trump in his own self-aggrandizing narrative as a president who did not start any wars.

The end of the current Israel-Hamas war and a push for a two-state solution is once again emerging as a consensus in the region. The old wisdom of a two-state design has triumphed globally, as it remains the only workable outcome on paper—primarily because no other viable options have been presented for decades.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, an advisor and close confidant of Trump, has said that the best insurance policy against Hamas is “not an Israeli reoccupation of Gaza but a reform in the Palestinian society” and that only the Arab states can achieve that. But not many leaders within the Arab states seem eager to take up unilateral ownership of such a task, even as they reap the benefits of Israeli military action to dismantle both Hamas and Hezbollah.

Despite more than a year of war, large projects ranging from connectivity to energy security continue to be envisioned. What will be expected from the region is to take ownership of its own regional security, critical for furthering its own economic aims. For this, conflict management, rather than conflict resolution, is the way forward.

An appetite for a new Middle East order may well provide enough motivation to resolve the obstacles created by the resurgence of the old one. The developing cease-fire between Israel and Hamas marks a moment of respite from war and an opening for the Arab states to address Palestinians’ role in the region moving forward. Saudi-Iran normalization can also be a catalyst, and Arab powers, specifically after the Abraham Accords, hold enough political influence across Israel, Iran, and the Palestinian territories to drive a new era of dialogue, compromise, and resolution.

[odinsblog]

No one loves Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman more than America’s elite. In recent years, we’ve seen leaders, investors, and celebrities hold out a Saudi exception to human rights in the service of a blurry concept of national interests that requires the U.S. to constantly compromise its values in service of an autocrat. And so MBS has been welcomed back into the establishment fold, and he won over Washington. And now he’s taking a victory lap.

When Saudi Arabia convened a 2018 summit in Riyadh, businesspeople shielded their name tags from view, sheepish about seeking MBS’s money just days after journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. But the stigma has apparently worn off, and big names in finance, tech, media, and entertainment showed up at the Miami edition of Davos in the Desert.

The entire conceit of the conference is that Saudi Arabia can be abstracted from MBS, who is hardly ever mentioned yet remains the unspoken force behind the events. The host, the Future Investment Initiative Institute, a mouthful, is essentially the crown prince’s personal think tank. Session after session offered platitudes and ruminations on the least controversial ideas ever—AI is going to change the world! Climate is important! Sports bring people together! The two-day gathering was titled “On the Edge of a New Frontier,” itself a sort of redundant name. (Isn’t a frontier an edge?)

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of a major sovereign wealth fund that’s currently under Senate investigation, led the proceedings. The Public Investment Fund that Al-Rumayyan runs is the conference’s founding partner and powers its lavish events. That Al-Rumayyan has $70 billion in annual investments to dole out is enough to draw out financial titans, curious entrepreneurs, and former Trump officials.

Jared Kushner, who had grown a beard, was talking about his theory of investing, without noting that MBS’s sovereign wealth funds had reportedly contributed $2 billion to his Affinity Partners. Steve Mnuchin, who similarly snared $1 billion of Saudi funds for his Liberty Strategic Capital, wore a suit and dress sneakers and talked about Israel as a tech hub. Mike Pompeo, in a tie, said that U.S. leadership in the world requires a “stability model” that involves working with “like-minded nations,” though “they’re not all going to be democracies.” Little wonder he rushed U.S. arms to Saudi Arabia as secretary of state as part of an end run around Congress.

Doing business with Saudi Arabia has become so normalized that the CEOs of major corporations and investment firms showed up in droves. There was Accenture’s Julie Sweet, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, and Thiel Capital’s Jack Selby. David Rubenstein—the billionaire who has played host to President Joe Biden at his Nantucket estate—spoke alongside his daughter Gabrielle. (This year, the Biden administration didn’t send an emissary, but the deputy commerce secretary, Donald Graves, attended in 2021.)

Journalists have kept a distance from Saudi Arabia after the dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Khashoggi, but in Miami the moderators included CNN’s Bianna Golodryga, Fox’s Maria Bartiromo, Bloomberg’s Manus Cranny, and The Wall Street Journal’s Gerard Baker.

MBS has especially used boldfaced names to rehabilitate his standing post-Khashoggi, his crackdown on women activists, and the destructive Yemen war. In Miami, there was a fireside chat with failed Senate candidate Dr. Oz. “Saudi Arabia is, I think, doing some wise investing and shifting mindsets by trying to leapfrog, in some cases, where the West is,” Oz said.

For Gwyneth Paltrow, it was just another fun public event. She spoke about how Goop had “built meaning” for its fans, in conversation with entrepreneur Moj Mahdara, a former adviser to Hillary Clinton. It was particularly incongruous when Paltrow discussed bringing more women to the cap table to fight the patriarchy.

Rob Lowe had some advice for Riyadh’s efforts to break into Hollywood and create its own film industry. “My view is there’s no reason that Saudi shouldn’t be the leader in IP in the same way they’re attempting to be the leader in sports and everything else,” Lowe said. “You need to have someone who can communicate: Why Saudi, why now.”

For all of the glitzy stage management and slick social media branding, at many moments there were fewer than 50 people watching the livestream on YouTube. But what mattered more were the opinion leaders, financiers, and tycoons in the room.

Big Tech was there, too, with Google’s Caroline Yap and Dell’s Michael Dell. Nothing was quite as obsequious as last year’s gathering in Miami when Adam Neumann, Marc Andreessen, and Ben Horowitz—all beneficiaries of Saudi Arabia’s financial largesse—gushed about how MBS is like a “founder,” except “you call him, ‘His Royal Highness.’”

(continue reading)

[beardedmrbean]

Syria will have a new government as of March 1, the country's interim foreign minister announced on Wednesday. Syria has been led by interim president Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the leader of former al Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, since the group led a coalition of rebels to topple the Assad regime last year.

Syria's foreign minister announced on Wednesday that a new government would take over next month from the interim cabinet formed following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, vowing that it would represent all Syrians in their diversity.

The new authorities will have to rebuild Syria's institutions after more than 50 years of Assad family rule and revive an economy smashed by nearly 14 years of war.

Still weighed down by heavy international sanctions, the government will also need to persuade Western capitals that the jihadist origins of the rebels that toppled Assad are confined to the past.

Asaad al-Shaibani said the new cabinet would take into account the multi-ethnic, multi-confessional nature of the country, at a time when the international community has called for the protection of minorities.

"The government that will be launched March 1 will represent the Syrian people as much as possible and take its diversity into account," Shaibani said on the sidelines of the World Governments Summit in the United Arab Emirates.

The Syrian people would be "partners in change," he said, adding that "changes and adjustments we made over the past two months on the political roadmap were derived and inspired by consultations with the diaspora and civil society".

Activists have also expressed concern about the rights and representation of women, while officials have insisted they will be a part of the new Syria.

Having seized power, the Islamist-led rebels installed an interim government headed by Mohammad al-Bashir to steer the country until March 1.

Last month, Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group (HTS) that spearheaded the overthrow of Assad, was appointed interim president.

The new authorities are to form a transitional legislature with the Assad-era parliament dissolved along with the Baath party which ruled Syria for decades.

In an interview earlier in February, Sharaa said organising elections could take up to five years.

Opposition in exile

On Tuesday evening, the presidency announced that Syria's main opposition bodies that had operated in exile had handed over to Damascus the files they were handling, as part of efforts to "dissolve" institutions formed during the conflict.

The move amounts to abolishing Syria's main unarmed opposition groupings in an effort that echoed Sharaa's bid to dismantle all armed groups and incorporate them into the army.

Sharaa met in Damascus with the head of the Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC) Bader Jamous and the head of the National Coalition Hadi Albahra.

Responding to a question about whether the move meant the dissolution of the bodies, Jamous told AFP: "yes, but there are legal procedures that need to be worked out and that will take some time".

He said members of the commission and affiliated experts will be "part of the Syrian state and support its construction".

The Istanbul-based Coalition was established in November 2012 after opposition groups and figures met in Qatar.

The Coalition is the main component of the SNC, which emerged after a meeting in Riyadh in 2015, and represented the Syrian opposition during UN-sponsored talks with the Assad government in Geneva that failed to produce any results.

HTS and other factions have themselves officially been dissolved, with their fighters to be integrated into a future national force.

The new authorities have pledged to form a committee to prepare a national dialogue conference involving all Syrians.

[poliphoon]

Ending the war in Ukraine is not the real agenda

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are expansionists in president’s clothing. They are busy scratching each other’s back now. It is quite revealing to see how the two presidents are playing each other. They just sent their officials to sweat it out in sizzling Saudi Arabia for scripting a farcical end to the war in Ukraine. It was a farce because neither Ukraine nor Europe was invited to the…

[kirstythejetblackgoldfish]

[theculturedmarxist]

George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq is mostly remembered, for good reason, as a debacle. But as the American military risks being drawn into the Middle East once again, it is worth noting the contrast between the initial phase of the Iraq war and the situation now unfolding in the Middle East. When Operation Iraqi Freedom kicked off on March 20, 2003, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq was isolated diplomatically and had been under harsh economic sanctions for years. Saddam had few allies to call upon, and his military was no match for that of the American hyperpower. Prior to the invasion, the United States had spent more than half a year simply building up forces, shipping over ammunition and fuel and preparing lines of supply. American diplomats had secured permission to stage troops and base aircraft in neighboring countries, such that the coalition had forces both to the south and to the north. The invasion was meticulously prepared, America was on the offense, and brought a massive preponderance of force down on the hapless Iraqi army.

The situation that Washington faces now is almost a photo negative of the one in March 2003. Today, US forces and assets are strewn across the region in military installations with a few thousand troops each. The United States isn’t facing one enemy, but a panoply of militias and terrorist groups, ranged across several countries, all aligned with Iran, which, in turn, has close ties to China and Russia.

America has done no preparation to, say, wage a concerted and effective air campaign against Iran, should the Iranians respond to an Israeli land invasion of Gaza with an all-out assault against the Jewish state. For one thing, Washington is increasingly diplomatically isolated due to Muslim anger over American support for the Israeli offensive in Gaza, but also because of inroads made by rival powers while its attention was elsewhere. This isolation was on display last week when President Biden’s planned summit with the leaders of Jordan, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority was canceled at the last minute. The West is mostly talking to itself and to the Israeli government. Meanwhile Tehran, Moscow, and Beijing are all engaged in their own diplomatic efforts across the region.

It’s possible that the snubs from America’s traditional Sunni allies are at least partly intended for domestic consumption, to pacify their own publics even as the likes of Riyadh and Amman continue to view Tehran as their No. 1 threat and Israel a useful bulwark against it. The problem is that America’s other interlocking dysfunctions leave scant room for hope that Washington can easily overcome these countervailing forces. The House of Representatives still has no speaker, the deficit is exploding, and the war in Ukraine is already a drain on the defense budget. But this is all just waved away; Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen gives an interview saying that waging two simultaneous wars is perfectly affordable. How will America avoid a severe fiscal crisis if interest rates and inflation continue to spike? Nobody knows; nobody really asks.

Should America be drawn into a regional war, which countries will it be fighting? For how long? What if Russia or China decide to intervene indirectly or directly? What if drones continue to rain down on US bases as its patriot missiles and other interceptors run out? What if another crisis breaks out over Taiwan?

“Turning Iraq into California was a stupid plan, but it was a plan.”

As foolish as George W. Bush administration’s determination to invade Iraq looks in retrospect, the new war heating up in the Middle East threatens to be more catastrophic. Turning Iraq into California was a stupid plan, but it was a plan. Today, the plan is for Israel to defeat Hamas, but it is unclear how this will address the deeper crises that are feeding the current conflict—not just the grievances of Palestinians, but the fact that the US-led regional order is breaking down as other powers assert their interests and pursue their ambitions. Two decades ago, America’s leaders were deluded by visions of democratic transformation; today, it is unclear they have any vision beyond putting out the latest fire and waiting for the next one.

[jordanianroyals]

11 November 2023: King Abdullah II warned that the region will spiral into a major conflict whose price innocent people from both sides will pay, and whose repercussions will affect the whole world if the ugly war on Gaza does not stop.   In an address to the joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit on Gaza hosted by the Saudi Arabia in Riyadh and attended by Crown Prince Hussein, King Abdullah said Jordan will continue to undertake its duty in dispatching humanitarian aid to the Palestinians through any means available.   His Majesty called for building on the United Nations General Assembly’s decision on Gaza, which was the result of joint Arab action, to be the first step to work collectively to build a political alliance to first stop the war and the displacement immediately, and to launch a serious peace process in the Middle East, without allowing its hindrance under any circumstances.   Following is the full text of His Majesty’s speech:

“In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,   Prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad,   Your Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud,   Your Highnesses, Excellencies, distinguished guests,   Peace, God’s mercy and blessings be upon you.   I would like to thank my brother, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for hosting this Arab-Islamic summit in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.   We convene today for Gaza and its people, as they continue to face death and destruction in an ugly war that must stop immediately, or our region will spiral into a major conflict whose price innocent people from both sides will pay, and whose repercussions will affect the whole world.   This injustice did not begin a month ago. It is a continuation of over seven decades dominated by a fortress mentality of separation walls and violations against holy sites and rights, the majority of whose victims are innocent civilians.   It is the same mentality that seeks to turn Gaza into an unliveable place. It targets mosques, churches, and hospitals; it kills doctors, paramedics, and relief workers; even children, the elderly, and women.   And I ask today, did the world have to wait for this painful humanitarian tragedy and the terrible destruction to unfold in order to realise that just peace, which fulfils the legitimate rights of the Palestinians on the basis of the two-state solution, is the only way to reach stability and end the killing and violence which have continued for decades?   My brothers,   The injustice inflicted on our Palestinian brothers and sisters reflects the international community’s failure to grant them justice and guarantee their rights to dignity, self-determination, and the establishment of their independent state on the 4 June 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.   We cannot be silent over the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip, which suffocates life and prevents the delivery of medicines. Humanitarian corridors must be kept safe and sustainable. And banning the delivery of food, medicine, water, and electricity to Gazans is not acceptable. It is a war crime that the world must condemn.   Jordan will continue to undertake its duty in dispatching humanitarian aid to the Palestinians through any means available.   My brothers,   The United Nations General Assembly’s decision on Gaza was a victory for humanitarian values and for the right to life and peace. It was a worldwide rejection of the war, and a result of joint Arab action.   This decision must be our first step to work collectively to build a political alliance to first stop the war and the displacement immediately, and to launch a serious peace process in the Middle East, without allowing its hindrance under any circumstances. The alternative would be further extremism, hatred, and tragedies.   The values of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and our shared humanity do not accept the killing of civilians nor the brutality that has been evident to the entire world over the past weeks of killing and destruction. We cannot allow for our just and legitimate cause to be turned into a source of fomenting conflict between religions.   And we say to the entire world and to all believers in peace and human dignity—regardless of their religion, ethnicity, or language—that the world will pay the price of failure to resolve the Palestinian issue and address the root causes of the problem.   Thank you all, and peace, God’s mercy and blessings be upon you.”   The Jordanian delegation to the summit included Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Director of the Office of His Majesty Jafar Hassan, and Jordan’s Permanent Representative at the Arab League Amjad Adaileh.

[trustednewstribune]

Saudi Arabia dives into Ukraine war peace push with Jeddah talks

India has also confirmed its attendance in Jeddah, describing the move as in line "with our longstanding position" that "dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward."

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia was set to host talks on the Ukraine war on Saturday in the latest flexing of its diplomatic muscle, though expectations are mild for what the gathering might achieve.

The meeting of national security advisers and other officials in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah underscores Riyadh's "readiness to exert its good offices to contribute to reaching a solution that will result in permanent peace," the official Saudi Press Agency said Friday.

Invitations were sent to around 30 countries, Russia not among them, according to diplomats familiar with the preparations. The SPA report said only that "a number of countries" would attend.

It follows Ukraine-organised talks in Copenhagen in June that were designed to be informal and did not yield an official statement.

Instead, diplomats said the sessions were intended to engage a range of countries in debates about a path towards peace, notably members of the BRICS bloc with Russia that have adopted a more neutral stance on the war in contrast to Western powers.

Speaking on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the wide range of countries represented in the Jeddah talks, including developing countries that have been hit hard by the surge in food prices triggered by the war.

"This is very important because, on issues such as food security, the fate of millions of people in Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world directly depends on how fast the world moves to implement the peace formula," he said.

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest crude exporter which works closely with Russia on oil policy, has touted its ties to both sides and positioned itself as a possible mediator in the war, now nearly a year and a half old.

"In hosting the summit, Saudi Arabia wants to reinforce its bid to become a global middle power with the ability to mediate conflicts while asking us to forget some of its failed strategies and actions of the past, like its Yemen intervention or the murder of Jamal Khashoggi," said Joost Hiltermann, Middle East programme director for the International Crisis Group.

The 2018 slaying of Khashoggi, a Saudi columnist for The Washington Post, by Saudi agents in Turkey once threatened to isolate Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler. But the energy crisis produced by the Ukraine war elevated Saudi Arabia's global importance, helping to facilitate his rehabilitation.

Moving forward Riyadh "wants to be in the company of an India or a Brazil, because only as a club can these middle powers hope to have an impact on the world stage," Hiltermann added.

"Whether they will be able to agree on all things, such as the Ukraine war, is a big question."

'Balancing'

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, failing in its attempt to take Kyiv but seizing swathes of territory that Western-backed Ukrainian troops are fighting to recapture.

Beijing, which says it is a neutral party in the conflict but has been criticised by Western capitals for refusing to condemn Moscow, announced on Friday it would participate in the Jeddah talks. "China is willing to work with the international community to continue to play a constructive role in promoting a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis," said foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin.

India has also confirmed its attendance in Jeddah, describing the move as in line "with our longstanding position" that "dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward."

South Africa said it too will take part.

Saudi Arabia has backed UN Security Council resolutions denouncing Russia's invasion as well as its unilateral annexation of territory in eastern Ukraine.

Yet last year, Washington criticised oil production cuts approved in October, saying they amounted to "aligning with Russia" in the war.

This May, the kingdom hosted Zelensky at an Arab summit in Jeddah, where he accused some Arab leaders of turning "a blind eye" to the horrors of Russia's invasion.

In sum, Riyadh has adopted a "classic balancing strategy" that could soften Russia's response to this weekend's summit, said Umar Karim, an expert on Saudi politics at the University of Birmingham.

"They're working with the Russians on several files, so I guess Russia will deem such an initiative if not totally favourable then not unacceptable as well."