National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has arrived in Jeddah to participate in a summit of national security advisers and officials being hosted by Saudi Arabia on Saturday to discuss the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Ajit Doval was warmly welcomed at Jeddah Airport by Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Suhel Khan, and Consul General Mohammed Shahid Alam.
The Indian Embassy in Riyadh tweeted, “Shri Ajit Doval, NSA arrived in Jeddah to take part in National Security Advisors’ meeting on Ukraine. He was welcomed at Jeddah Airport by Ambassador Dr Suhel Khan and Consul General Mohd Shahid Alam.”
The meeting is organized in the coastal city of Jeddah to discuss Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plan for peace amid the ongoing conflict with Russia.
The Ministry of External Affairs confirmed India’s participation in the summit, stating, “India will participate in this event, and our participation is in consonance with our long-standing position that dialogue and diplomacy are the way forward,” said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
“India has been invited to a meeting being hosted by Saudi Arabia on Ukraine in Jeddah,” Bagchi replied during a press briefing of the Ministry of External Affairs.
Russia’s state-run Tass news agency reported Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov as saying, “Russia will keep an eye on this meeting” but would need “to fully understand what goals are being set.”
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the summit on July 29, citing “diplomats involved in the discussion.” The talks are scheduled for August 5 and 6 in Jeddah, with around 30 countries attending.
Ukrainian and Western officials are hopeful that the efforts could conclude in a peace summit later this year where global leaders would sign up to shared principles for resolving the war.
The 30 invitees for the Jeddah summit include Chile, Egypt, the European Union, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Zambia, according to WSJ.
Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said officials from several countries would take part in the Saudi Arabian summit but did not specify when or where the meeting would be held, reported Al Jazeera.
Yermak stated on Telegram that discussions will focus on the Ukrainian Peace Formula, which “contains 10 fundamental points, the implementation of which will not only ensure peace for Ukraine but also create mechanisms to counter future conflicts in the world.”
“We are deeply convinced that the Ukrainian peace plan should be taken as a basis because the war is taking place on our land,” Al Jazeera quoted Yermak as saying.
India has consistently maintained that the Russia-Ukraine conflict must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also expressed India’s readiness to contribute to a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, escalating the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014. The invasion has led to tens of thousands of casualties on both sides, with Russian forces accused of causing mass civilian casualties and torturing captured Ukrainian soldiers. (ANI)