Russia-Ukraine Negotiations

The African Union called today to urgently reinstate a United Nations-brokered deal allowing Ukraine to export millions of tons of grain that was terminated at Russia's behest. "The problem of grains and fertilizers concerns everyone," Comoros President Azali Assoumani, who heads the 55-nation African Union, told Russian state newswire RIA Novosti. He was speaking in St. Petersburg, where Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting a summit with African leaders...

Russian President Vladimir Putin promised African leaders tens of thousands of tons of free grain Thursday, following international condemnation for allegedly endangering the world’s food supply by bombing Ukrainian ports and reneging on a landmark export deal. Speaking at an event in St. Petersburg dedicated to Russia-Africa ties, he also said the war in Ukraine was “very significantly heated” at the moment...

Vladimir Putin is on a charm offensive. On Thursday, the Russian president will roll out the red carpet for African leaders as he seeks to shore up Moscow’s position in a continent that’s becoming increasingly important to his country’s geopolitical ambitions. Alongside the war in Ukraine, food security will be high on the agenda of the second Russia-Africa Summit in St Petersburg, especially after Russia’s decision last week to withdraw from an international grain deal left many in Africa unnerved...

Saudi Arabia will host a Ukrainian-organized peace summit in early August seeking to find a way to start negotiations over Russia’s war on the country, an official said Saturday night. The kingdom and Kyiv did not immediately acknowledge the planned talks. The summit will be held in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as no authorization had been given to publicly discuss the summit...

Russia said Monday it will closely follow talks on Ukraine set to take place in Saudi Arabia early next month. Saudi Arabia is planning to host peace talks including Ukraine, Western nations and selected major developing countries in August, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday...

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday called for an end to the "irrational" war in Ukraine, urging upcoming peace talks in the Middle East to include representation from both Ukraine and Russia. Lopez Obrador said Mexico would only take part in the talks in Saudi Arabia, reportedly scheduled to be held over the coming weekend, if both sides were present...

Ukraine’s relationship with its international partners has become increasingly complex, and it was perhaps inevitable that tensions and differences of opinion between Kyiv and its allies arose as the war with Russia dragged on...

For some officials in Washington and London, Zelenskyy’s decision to tell his staunch backers that Ukraine deserved “respect,” as NATO met to discuss additional support for Kyiv, was a step too far...

It’s not only at a diplomatic level that Ukraine has irked its allies. Ukraine’s military strategy — and the symbolic value it has put on fighting for every piece of Ukrainian territory — has sometimes collided with its allies’ military perspective and pragmatism...

The Biden administration says they don't expect "tangible deliverables" from upcoming Ukraine peace plan talks hosted by Saudi Arabia but rather a continuing discussion on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's "peace formula" for ending the brutal conflict. John Kirby, director of strategic communications for the National Security Council, also told VOA on Thursday that the administration continues to work with Saudi Arabia on a process of eventual normalization with Israel, and that the administration believes that normalization is "better for our national security interests"...

China’s top diplomat assured Russia that Beijing hasn’t wavered in its stance on the Ukraine war, right after a Chinese envoy joined a multilateral forum—which excluded Moscow—to discuss ways to end the conflict. In a Monday call, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, affirmed the strong partnership between their governments and promised to keep working together to resist Western efforts to contain their countries’ development, according to readouts from both foreign ministries...

Faced with the question of Ukrainian membership at Vilnius, NATO allies agreed to decide that they will decide when they agree. In a carefully worded and fiercely negotiated summit communiqué, they pledged to extend an invitation to Ukraine when there is a consensus within the Alliance and when conditions for membership are met. This outcome is not surprising — accession is not possible as long as war is raging, and allies’ positions on this were known beforehand. More surprising, though, at least for those of us who follow European politics, was France’s position on the matter. In 2008, France, together with Germany, resisted the U.S. push to enlarge NATO to Ukraine. This time around, the script was flipped, as France’s supportive attitude stood in contrast to greater U.S. skepticism...