WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Talks on Ukraine in Saudi Arabia cannot bring a result, because Russia does not participate in them, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said.
“I would like to understand how it is possible to discuss issues related to Russia’s security without account for our national interests. Is it really still not clear to someone that it is impossible to achieve a specific result in such a situation?” Antonov said.
He said there was no diplomatic success in Jeddah.
“We have witnessed yet another unsuccessful attempt of wishful thinking by the US Administration. There was no diplomatic success in Jeddah. Washington tried to show a beautiful picture of US support from the ‘Global South’ states in the effort to isolate Russia. To win over the countries that do not support the ‘rules-based order,'” Antonov said.
“Hence the rather expected result of the meeting – the lack of a common position on how to move forward in resolving the crisis in Ukraine. There was no support for Kiev’s notorious ‘peace formula’ at all,” he said.
Antonov’s remarks come as a Moscow source told Sputnik that the majority of the participants attached to the meeting in Saudi Arabia were from Western countries which arm Kiev. “The vast majority of participants are Western countries, directors of the Ukrainian crisis, arms suppliers and escalators. You don’t have to look far for conclusions,” the source said.
“According to media reports, at the meeting on Ukraine in Jeddah, the countries of the Global South were in the minority. Out of about 40 participants, there were about 15 [from the Global South], and 4 or 5 joined via a video link. Russia was not invited,” the source said.
Some of the countries that proposed mediation and humanitarian initiatives in the past “were forgotten” at the meeting, the source added.
Ahead of the weekend function, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blasted the gathering as an attempt by the US, UK and their allies to pull as many nations into pompous summits to discuss Ukraine’s peace formula.
“The Anglo-Saxons and their allies have stood up for the Nazis of Kiev, glossing over, if not justifying, their actions that violate human rights and the rights of national minorities,” Lavrov commented.
“Instead of a serious conversation based on recognizing the evolution of the real situation ‘on the ground’ over the past ten years they convene staged forums with the sole purpose of luring as many countries as possible into any semblance of a discussion of the ‘Zelensky’s formula,’ which demands nothing less than that Russia completely capitulate, agree to compromise its security and leave millions of Russians to the mercy of fate.”
Echoing Lavrov’s sentiments, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier indicated that the Jeddah forum could later be used as a means to build a coalition against Russia as it was not called on to participate in the event.
Russia has repeatedly indicated it would be open to diplomatic solutions, with Zakharova noting a “sustainable” peace effort would only be possible once the “Kiev regime stops hostilities” and Western allies cease their military build-up.