The Jeddah Summit serves as a catalyst for peaceful resolution in Ukraine

Over the weekend, an international summit was held in Jeddah to find a peaceful settlement to the Ukraine crisis. nearly two months after similar peace talks were held in Copenhagen.

The difference lies in that Denmark is part of the Western, pro-Ukraine camp, while Saudi Arabia stands at equal distance from the warring parties. China and India – both friends of Russia – attended the Jeddah talks. Russia for its part, though not in attendance, said it would keep an eye on the meeting, despite flagging its opposition to the attendance of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Fighters on the ground have reached an impasse, but the crisis is still growing. New military and political alliances and international balances are emerging. Threats of the war spilling over to other states are on the rise, as are threats of nuclear warfare, or submarine warfare in the Black Sea. Chechen and Russian militias are mobilizing, and the use of Iranian drones is mounting. Both parties are using wheat as a weapon and bombing ports and bridges, and the war has branched out to include the production and sale of oil and gas.

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The Jeddah peace talks are neither a political stance nor a show of media warfare. For both Russia and the West, a military resolution seems more impossible today than ever before. What they need is a way that saves them both from the repercussions of the ongoing crisis. But how can they get there when they are both mired in the muck of the war?

Will Moscow acquiesce to returning home with no gains and allow Kyiv to reclaim its territorial integrity, including Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014?

Will the West be willing to cede what the Kremlin considers to be “new territorial realities?”

Or are there other choices that give each of the two parties some gains it could go back home with to celebrate victory – perhaps guarantees of Kyiv’s safety and sovereignty on the one hand, and autonomy for Ukrainian regions that are semi-Russian demographically?

With both Russia and Ukraine having high expectations that could not be further apart, the Jeddah summit proves necessary to shorten the distance between the two foes.

With new complexities emerging each day, the war may spiral out of control at any moment. The Wagner Group’s arrival in Belarus and the heightened threat of war spilling over into neighboring countries may be a bargaining chip that Moscow is playing on Washington and its allies. Meanwhile, Ukraine has not only attacked Crimea, but its drones also dared strike vital targets in Moscow – which even Hitler and his mighty army could not frighten into submission.

This spillover poses a great danger. Throughout the wars of major powers, battles remained restricted to conflict areas. The wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan never made it to Europe or the United States. Ultimately, nuclear threats began to mount.

A settlement that ends the war is still not in sight, but peace talks are a good starting point that allows each party to retain its gains while also serving the ultimate goal of putting an end to the losses that both parties are suffering with every passing day.

The Ukraine war is the most dangerous and significant war since WWII, which put an end to wars in Europe and distanced the Old Continent from conflicts. For four decades, and until the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union, the Eastern and Western camps remained engaged in a Cold War, without one tank entering the territories of the opposing camp. Now, the Ukraine war has reopened old wounds and brought the world back to the trenches of the Cold War.

But where’s Saudi Arabia amid all this?

Today, the Kingdom looks nothing like its Cold War self. Back then, Riyadh did not even have diplomatic relations with Eastern powers like Beijing and Moscow. Today, it stands in the middle. Most of its oil is sold to China, but it is also one of the biggest trade partners of the US in the Middle East. It maintains good relations with Putin, as well as with Zelenskyy.

India and China’s attendance at the Jeddah Summit particularly reflected this Saudi openness and the Kingdom’s efforts to engage all parties in the formulation of a solution to end the crisis and the threats it poses to international relations.

While China opposes the Western military and economic blockade on Russia, Washington warns China against supporting Moscow and the possible repercussions of such alignment.

For 42 states to gather in Jeddah amid all these tensions to discuss an end to the Ukraine crisis is nothing short of an accomplishment and should go a long way towards advancing peace efforts.

Read more:

US welcomes China’s participation in Saudi-hosted Ukraine talks

Ukraine says Saudi peace talks ‘huge blow’ to Russia, another meeting agreed

Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia were successful contribution to peace: Germany