As 40 countries discuss peace for Ukraine, Medvedev says Kyiv ‘must beg for mercy’

As diplomats and national security advisors from over 40 countries discussed ways of putting an end to Russia's war against Ukraine in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Russia's Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Aug. 6 that Kyiv "must beg Moscow for mercy.”

Following the Copenhagen meeting in June, Saudi Arabia hosted the second extended meeting on restoring peace in Ukraine on Aug. 5, where countries and organizations, like the U.S., EU, the U.K., and China, among others, could voice their position and vision, the President’s Office reported on Aug. 6.

Russia did not receive an invitation.

“There were different views, but all the participants demonstrated their countries' commitment to the principles of the UN Charter, international law, and respect for the sovereignty and inviolability of the territorial integrity of states,” said Andriy Yermak, the head of the President’s Office.

Yermak, who led the Ukrainian delegation, didn’t specify the difference in the views.

Zelensky presented a ten-point peace plan in November 2022. The Peace Formula includes withdrawing Russian troops from Ukraine, restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity, punishing those responsible for war crimes, preventing ecocide, and releasing all prisoners of war and deportees.

The Jeddah meeting is set to be followed by a so-called Global Peace Summit in the fall, according to Zelensky.

Meanwhile, former Russian President Medvedev said negotiations are not needed.

“The enemy must crawl on the knees, begging for mercy,” Medvedev said in a Telegram post, claiming Ukraine “never existed.”

Zelensky said on June 18 that peace talks with Russia are possible only after the complete withdrawal of Russian troops.

Most of the countries that participated in the Jeddah meeting “have already defined their role in the implementation of specific points of the Formula,” according to the president’s office.

Stoltenberg says peace cannot mean freezing Russia’s war

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned against premature peace talks between Ukraine and Russia after South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said in Kyiv that “peace has to be achieved through diplomacy as soon as possible.”

The Kyiv IndependentAlexander Khrebet