Int'l community makes fresh efforts to resolve Ukraine crisis in Jeddah

RIYADH - Security advisors and representatives from 43 countries on Sunday concluded a two-day meeting in Jeddah, a coastal city in western Saudi Arabia, where they discussed solutions to the Ukraine crisis that has dragged on for more than a year.

The closed-door meeting was attended by quite a number of developing countries, many of which have primarily stayed neutral in the crisis. Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui also attended the meeting.

Analysts said that China's participation reflects its role as a responsible major country in promoting peace, and the meeting represents the latest efforts by the international community in solving the crisis.

Li Xinggang, a researcher at the Institute for Studies on the Mediterranean Rim at Zhejiang International Studies University, believes that the Jeddah meeting will push for a greater international peace force to resolve the crisis, and allow more international actors to participate in it, so as to find fair, just and lasting solutions to the crisis.

Abdullah Otaibi, an expert on international issues in Saudi Arabia, pointed out that although the Ukraine crisis is unlikely to end soon, the convening of the Jeddah meeting is an important step in the right direction toward resolving the crisis and an important opportunity to enhance consensus among all parties and seek a practical and feasible solution.

Wang Guangyuan, an associate professor at the Middle East College of Beijing Language and Culture University, said that the Jeddah meeting, a transitional event linking the past and the future, paves the way for the next peace conference that can include Russia.

Andriy Yermak, chief of staff of Ukraine's presidential office, said in a statement that the meeting's participants had conducted "very productive consultations on the key principles on which a just and lasting peace should be built".

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council, said that a peace proposal can have a chance of success only if both sides of the conflict participate, the historical context is considered, and the current realities are taken into account.

The participation of the Chinese delegation in the meeting has attracted a lot of attention.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said prior to the meeting that China stands ready to work with the international community to continue to play a constructive role in seeking a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.

Otaibi pointed out that China's position on resolving the Ukrainian crisis has always been valued by the international community and will play a positive role in formulating agreements and principles to end the conflict.

Ahmed Ibrahim, a Saudi political analyst, said that China is an important force to promote world peace and development.

China has been in contact with all relevant parties on the Ukraine crisis, actively promoting peace talks, and has been calling on relevant parties to respond to the call of the international community, gradually accumulating and creating conditions for the final resolution of the crisis, which attests to China's role as a responsible major country, he said.