Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Saudi Arabia in May to attend the Arab League summit held in Jeddah. SPA / EPA
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Saudi Arabia in May to attend the Arab League summit held in Jeddah. SPA / EPA
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Saudi Arabia in May to attend the Arab League summit held in Jeddah. SPA / EPA
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Saudi Arabia in May to attend the Arab League summit held in Jeddah. SPA / EPA

Ukraine peace talks to be held in Saudi Arabia on August 5


Sunniva Rose
  • English
  • Arabic

Saudi Arabia will host a second round of Ukraine peace talks on August 5, EU spokeswoman Nabila Massrali told The National on Monday.

Senior EU officials will attend the meeting with about 40 other country representatives, said the official. It comes after a first round of peace talks in Copenhagen in June.

“This meeting will provide an opportunity for further exchanges with global partners and Ukraine on the Ukraine’s Peace Formula, in preparation for an upcoming Global Peace Summit,” Ms Massrali said in an email.

A global summit is expected by the end of the year, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on Sunday.

“Any initiative for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine must be based on full respect for its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders,” added Ms Massrali.

A Saudi Foreign Affairs Ministry source previously told The National that the talks are likely to be held in Jeddah.

Several countries have reportedly confirmed their attendance, including South Africa and Poland, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported details of the meeting on Saturday.

The WSJ said the meeting would take place over two days, on August 5 and August 6.

A Dutch Foreign Ministry representative told The National that they would also attend and welcomed Ukraine's “international outreach” to discuss Mr Zelenskyy's 10-point peace plan announced in December.

“It is up to Ukraine to negotiate their peace and decide over possible outcomes,” they said of the meeting, which excludes Russia.

The choice of Saudi Arabia is widely viewed as an attempt by Ukraine and its western supporters to woo the global South.

Western officials reportedly hope that Saudi Arabia will convince China to participate in the talks. China did not participate in the previous round of talks in Denmark.

Mr Zelenskyy's last visit to Saudi Arabia was during a recent Arab League summit when he attempted to rally Arab support for Ukraine following Russia's invasion last year.

The EU's confirmation of attendance came as the deputy secretary general of the bloc's external action service, Enrique Mora, hosted Rayed Krimly, the head of policy planning at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Brussels.

“Excellent discussion today in Brussels with Dr Rayed Krimly on issues of common interest,” tweeted Mr Mora.

Challenging times require strong partnerships. The EU is committed to further expand its partnership with Saudi Arabia to tackle challenges in the region and beyond.”

The biog

Age: 23

Occupation: Founder of the Studio, formerly an analyst at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi

Education: Bachelor of science in industrial engineering

Favourite hobby: playing the piano

Favourite quote: "There is a key to every door and a dawn to every dark night"

Family: Married and with a daughter

The biog

Family: wife, four children, 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren

Reads: Newspapers, historical, religious books and biographies

Education: High school in Thatta, a city now in Pakistan

Regrets: Not completing college in Karachi when universities were shut down following protests by freedom fighters for the British to quit India 

 

Happiness: Work on creative ideas, you will also need ideals to make people happy

Stormy seas

Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.

We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice. 

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The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol

Power: 154bhp

Torque: 250Nm

Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option 

Price: From Dh79,600

On sale: Now

EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS

Estijaba – 8001717 –  number to call to request coronavirus testing

Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111

Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre

Emirates airline – 600555555

Etihad Airways – 600555666

Ambulance – 998

Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries

The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump and Other Pieces 1986-2016
Martin Amis,
Jonathan Cape

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Infobox

Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman

The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August

Results

UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets

Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets

Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets

Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs

Monday fixtures

UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain

Multitasking pays off for money goals

Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.

That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.

"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.

Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."

People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.

"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."

The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo

Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000

Engine: 5.6-litre V8

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm

Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km

UAE Team Emirates

Valerio Conti (ITA)
Alessandro Covi (ITA)
Joe Dombrowski (USA)
Davide Formolo (ITA)
Fernando Gaviria (COL)
Sebastian Molano (COL)
Maximiliano Richeze (ARG)
Diego Ulissi (ITAS)

Updated: July 31, 2023, 6:20 PM