India is set to attend a summit hosted by Saudi Arabia in Jeddah to discuss Ukrainian President Volodymyr's peace plan amid the latter's ongoing war with Russia, announced the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday.
"India will participate in this event and our participation is in consonance with our long-standing position that dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward," said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi. He did not specify who will attend the meeting from the Indian side.
The talks in Jeddah will be held on August 5 and 6 in the presence of diplomats from around 30 countries including Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Mexico and Poland. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said that Russia will keep an eye on the meeting to "fully understand what goals are being set", reported TASS news agency.
Ukrainian officials have touted the venue as a 'boon' that "completely destroys the narrative of Russia" that Ukraine is supported by only Western countries, CNN reported. “Our goal in Saudi Arabia is to develop a unified vision of the formula and to work out the possibilities of holding the future Global Peace Summit," they said.
From the US side, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will attend the meeting. Officials from the US State Department are calling it as having "Ukraine in the driver's seat" and an opportunity to find a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing war.
However, Saudi Arabia has not taken any sides in the war. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman previously contributed in the release of Western troops captured by Russian forces while fighting for Ukraine and has potential leverage over Russia.
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