Senior US and European Union officials will gather over the weekend with diplomats from several countries in the so-called global south in an effort to engage key nations that have remained mostly neutral in the face of Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to Bloomberg.
The meeting, which will take place in Denmark, is expected to include envoys from South Africa, Brazil and India, as well as US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s chief of staff, and a senior Ukrainian official, according to people familiar with the matter.
China has yet to confirm whether it will attend and the full list of participants hasn’t been finalized, one of the people said. Brazil will be represented by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s chief diplomatic adviser, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private.
Although the meeting, which was first reported by the Financial Times, is not expected to have a formal agenda, one of the main aims of the gathering will be to discuss Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace formula and the Ukrainian president’s effort to hold a global summit on the proposals, one of the people said.
Several other nations including South Africa, Brazil and China have also in recent weeks pitched their own proposals and diplomatic efforts to settle the war.
The meeting in Denmark comes as Ukraine’s counteroffensive to take back occupied territory has made slow initial progress, with Russian defensive lines stuck in and Kyiv mainly focused on testing those lines while targeting Russia’s artillery and other supplies.
Zelenskyy’s 10-point formula calls for restoring safety around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which Russia occupies and the Ukrainian president has warned Moscow could sabotage. The plan also stipulates that Russian troops need to withdrawal from Ukraine, release all war prisoners and deportees and ensure food and energy security.
Kyiv has been pushing to hold a global meeting on the proposed points but key allies have been reluctant to set a firm date without broader buy-in from other countries, the people said.
Engagement with the global south was a key goal of a Group of Seven summit that took place in Japan in May, where Zelenskyy also met with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Still, India and other countries in the BRICS grouping — which includes Brazil, China, South Africa as well as Russia – have not joined EU and US sanctions against Moscow. Some have provided President Vladimir Putin with varying levels of support and stayed mostly neutral.