Chinese Special Representative for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui will participate in an international meeting on the implementation of Ukraine's peace formula, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Aug. 4.
Saudi Arabia will host the meeting, set to take place on Aug. 5-6. Russia has not been invited, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed diplomats familiar with the matter.
On July 31, the Spanish news outlet Europa Press cited anonymous EU sources saying that around 40 countries were invited to the informal meeting to discuss Kyiv's peace initiatives.
The WSJ, which first reported on the meeting on July 29, listed Egypt, Mexico, Indonesia, Chile, and Zambia among the invitees, adding that some have already confirmed their participation. Those include the U.K., South Africa, Poland, and the European Union.
President Volodymyr Zelensky's Chief of Staff Andrii Yermak later confirmed that the event would take place, saying that national security advisers and political advisers to heads of state would be in attendance.
"We are deeply convinced that the Ukrainian peace plan should be taken as a basis because the war is taking place on our land," Yermak said.
The summit comes as Russia and the West battle over the support of developing countries, which have mostly stayed neutral throughout Russia's 16-month-old full-scale war against Ukraine.
The 10-point peace formula, supported by many Western allies, includes the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, and the punishing of those responsible for war crimes.
Francis Farrell
