Saudi Arabia is scheduled to hold international peace talks on Ukraine next month.
The meeting will exclude Russia but Ukraine and its Western allies as well as major developing countries like India and Brazil have been invited. It will be held in Jeddah on August 5 and 6. Washington and Europe hope the talks lead to international backing for peace terms favoring Kiev. The war in Ukraine began in February last year. Moscow says any peace plan must take into account new realities, referring to regions that have been captured by Russian forces. However, Kiev says negotiations with the Kremlin will be possible only after Moscow withdraws its troops.