Saudi Arabia to host Ukraine talks early next month: WSJ

Saudi Arabia is set to host talks in August about Ukraine, inviting Western states, Ukraine and major developing countries including India and Brazil, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.The meeting would bring senior officials from up to 30 countries, including Indonesia, Egypt, Mexico, Chile and Zambia, to Jeddah on Aug 5 and 6, the report said, citing diplomats involved in the discussion.Ukraine and Western officials hope that the talks, which exclude Russia, can lead to international backing for peace terms favouring Ukraine, it said.The Kremlin, which claims to have annexed around a sixth of Ukraine, has said it views peace talks with Ukraine as possible only if Kyiv accepts " new realities ", a reference to its territorial claims. Kyiv says negotiations with Russia would be possible only after Moscow withdraws its troops.Among the invited countries, it is not yet clear how many will attend, although countries that took part in a similar round of talks in Copenhagen in June are expected to do so again, the report said.Britain, South Africa, Poland and the EU are among those who have confirmed attendance and the US national security adviser Jake Sullivan is expected to attend, it added.Meanwhile, the TASS news agency reported , citing Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, that Russia has received around 30 peace initiatives on Ukraine through official and unofficial channels.A Russian missile attack killed two people and blew out apartment windows in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia Saturday, Anatoliy Kurtiev, secretary of the city council, said."The blast wave knocked out windows in high-rise buildings and damaged the building of an educational institution and a supermarket," Kurtiev said.