India to attend Jeddah conference on Ukraine’s peace plan on Aug 5-6

Several European nations, the US, China and India are among the countries invited to the conference

New Delhi: India is among a select group of countries invited by Saudi Arabia to a two-day conference on Ukraine‘s peace plan that will take place in the coastal city of Jeddah from Saturday.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday that India’s participation in the meeting would be in consonance with its long-standing position that dialogue and diplomacy are the way forward to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

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Several European nations, the US, China and India are among the countries invited to the conference.

“Yes, India has been invited to a meeting being hosted by Saudi Arabia on Ukraine in Jeddah,” Bagchi said, replying to a question in his weekly media briefing.

“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,” he said.

The MEA spokesperson, however, did not mention who will represent India at the conference.

“We will let you know (about level of participation) when I am in a position to do so,” he said.

According to reports, Russia has not been invited to the conference.

American media reports said US national security adviser Jake Sullivan is expected to attend the talks.

The hosting of the conference is seen as a major effort by Saudi Arabia to discuss Ukraine’s 10-point peace plan.

Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put forward the 10-point “peace plan” for ending the conflict that included punishing those responsible for the war crimes, withdrawing all Russian troops from Ukraine, and restoring his country’s territorial integrity.

Under the plan, he also called for ensuring energy security, food security, and nuclear safety.

India has been maintaining that the Ukraine crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.

In May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held in-person talks with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

In the talks, Modi conveyed to Zelenskyy that India will do whatever is possible to find a solution to the conflict.

At a bilateral meeting with Russian President Putin on September 16 last year in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, Modi said, “Today’s era is not of war” and nudged the Russian leader to end the conflict.

On his part, Zelenskyy briefed the Indian side in detail on his peace formula and urged New Delhi to join in its implementation.