Monday, July 31, 2023

Biden administration official expected to attend Ukraine peace talks in Saudi Arabia, US officials say

begin quote from:
https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-07-31-23/index.html

Biden administration official expected to attend Ukraine peace talks in Saudi Arabia, US officials say

From CNN's Kylie Atwood

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Friday, July 7, 2023, in Washington, DC.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Friday, July 7, 2023, in Washington, DC. Patrick Semansky/AP

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is expected to attend peace talks on the war in Ukraine next week in Saudi Arabia, US officials said. 

Ukraine is taking the lead on the effort which is expected to be attended by Western countries and developing nations. Russia is not expected to attend the talks. 

Ukraine’s goal is that the talks work to identify shared principles for ending the war and that there is a peace summit later this year with global leaders signing up to support those principles, US officials said. 

The talks hosted in Saudi Arabia are the second in a series of meetings organized by the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak. The first talks took place earlier this year in Copenhagen.

Saudi Arabia was picked for the talks in part because of the country’s relationship with China, one US official explained. While China is not expected to attend the talks, US officials have publicly encouraged China in recent months to play a constructive role in resolving the Ukraine war though there has been no signal of China taking any proactive steps towards a peaceful end. 

“I reiterated that we would welcome China playing a constructive role along with other nations to work toward a just peace, based on the principles of the United Nations Charter,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Beijing in June.


 

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