Jeddah \"summit\": planned US fiasco

The supposedly two-day "peace meeting" on Ukraine in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has ended prematurely, with nothing to discuss further. The Global South states refused to deliberate on peace in Ukraine without Russia or sign a joint declaration endorsing the "Zelensky formula" imposed on them. The meeting would yield no joint statement in its follow-up, an EU representative stated right away.

Those behind the forum held in Russia’s absence was the United States, not Saudi Arabia or Ukraine. Amid its confrontation with Russia, Washington set itself a strategic task of winning over the Global South, as the developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America are now routinely referred to. Specifically, the aim to isolate Russia and form a global anti-Russian front engaging the emergent nations has failed. And this has proven louder than expected. The "summit" atmosphere was perfectly conveyed by China’s Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui: "We have many disagreements and we have heard different positions, but it is important that our principles are shared." Translated from diplomatic, this means everyone has agreed to differ.

So, what is the stance taken by the Global South, though? Its key takeaways have been reflected by Brazilian president's foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim, who "stressed that any real negotiations must engage all the parties, including Russia." The Global South deems it unfeasible to address global affairs without Russia. The Jeddah meeting came after the "secret" Copenhagen one in June, where the same key participants discussed the same agenda. Even then, Celso Amorim said what he then repeated to those present in Jeddah. Judging by various Western media leaks and comments, he was backed by other countries in the Global South.

Here is another significant circumstance. In Copenhagen, it was decided to hold a summit engaging heads of state and government, which the meeting in Jeddah was meant to be — formally by Saudi efforts. Yet all the US plans were thwarted by Latin American and BRICS states, apparently along with those of the Middle East. Leading the way to defy the hegemon was Mexican President Lopez Obrador, who said he would only attend if both sides to the conflict were present — Ukraine and Russia. Brazilian President Lula da Silva spoke in a similar way and even neglected to send his adviser Celso Amorim to Jeddah, with the latter outlining his country's stance via video link.

In the end, shortly before its beginning, the much-hyped "summit" suddenly turned into a "meeting of national security advisers and high-ranking officials," as the Western press put it. Even before the negotiation process proper, the Americans came to realize that it would not live up to the intentional level or format. Still, the US gave a hostage to fortune and decided not to drop the plan. A miscalculation that only yielded a zilch. Therefore, Western media reports about the meeting in Jeddah were all but shallow. Here's how Germany’s ZDF TV channel commented upon the American fiasco: "Kiev (for which read Washington) will certainly have a hard time. How will it, say, dissuade India so heavily reliant on Russian oil? How will it dissuade the vociferously neutral African countries? <...> The meeting in Jeddah was rather informal and featured limited footage. Hardly a breakthrough, you bet."

Saving face of venue facilitators, The New York Times writes that the meeting has been "the starting point of what is expected to be a major Ukrainian diplomatic push in the coming months to try to undercut Russia." "The annual United Nations General Assembly session in September will offer another opportunity for Ukraine to make its case," the piece goes on to say. And besides, Ukraine "is also planning a summit later in the fall to shore up backing for its 10-point peace formula in the hopes that it will form the backbone of any future settlement." It is not Ukraine but the US State Department who is contemplating the venue. Its outcome is curious enough given that the two failed "preparatory" meetings. After all, the Global South has been consistently and boldly demonstrating a US-detached attitude.

The American Jeddah failure appears all the more prominent with another summit looming, the one having real global significance — the meeting of BRICS member states due on August 20. Its agenda includes bloc expansion (30+ countries are seeking membership), discussion of prospects for abandoning the dollar and switching to national currencies in international transactions, close economic and financial cooperation in the face of the West’s anti-Russian sanctions.