Saudi Arabia began talks on resolving the Ukraine war on Saturday, Saudi state media reported, despite no delegation from Russia taking part. Senior officials from some 40 countries including the US, China, South Africa and India are attending the discussions in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah. Ukraine and its allies hope the two-day conference will lead to an agreement on key principles for a peaceful end to the 17-month conflict and win over non-Western countries that have so far stayed neutral over the conflict due to close ties with Moscow. Ahead of the summit, aides to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's said the delegates would look into his 10-point peace plan, which includes Russia withdrawing from Ukrainian territory and returning Crimea to Kyiv's control. It is not clear whether the talks are aimed at producing a joint statement.  Brazil Foreign Policy Advisor Celso Amorim underscored the importance of bringing Moscow into the dialogue, saying, "Although Ukraine is the biggest victim, if we really want peace, we have to involve Moscow in this process in some form."   On Saturday, DW spoke with Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in Washington, DC, about the conference and what it means for Kyiv.  Kupchan said: "It gives Ukraine an ability to try to appeal to the court of world opinion, to get major countries that have been on the fence — Saudi Arabia, Brazil, India — to get them onto its side. I don't think we're going to see anything concrete emerge from this conversation, but it is a step forward." The US analyst went on to say: "I do think it's important that China is there. The fact that China has gone despite Russia's absence says to me that the Chinese are carefully hedging away from their unstinting support for Moscow in this war." What did Ukraine, Russia say ahead of the talks? "I predict that the conversation will not be easy, but the truth is on our side," Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, said in an interview broadcast on Friday. "We have many disagreements and we have heard many positions, but it is important that we share our principles," Yermak, who is heading the Ukrainian delegation said. "Our task is to unite the whole world around Ukraine." In his nightly video message Friday, President Zelenskyy said, "a fair and honest end to Russian aggression will benefit everyone in the world. Everyone!" Although Russia has not been invited, the Kremlin has said it will keep an eye on the talks. While the conflict rages, Ukrainian, Russian and international officials say there is no prospect of direct peace talks between the two sides at present. Saturday's meeting follows Ukraine-organized peace talks in Copenhagen in June that were designed to be informal and did not yield an official statement. Riyadh hopes to play mediator Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest crude exporter, works closely with Russia on oil policy but has touted its ties to both sides and positioned itself as a possible mediator in the war. It has backed UN Security Council resolutions denouncing Russia's invasion as well as its unilateral annexation of territory in eastern Ukraine. Riyadh also helped mediate a prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia last year. Under de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom has sought a bigger role on the world stage and has pushed to expand ties with major powers outside the old framework of its relationship with the US. In May, the kingdom hosted Zelenskyy at an Arab summit in Jeddah, where he accused some Arab leaders of turning "a blind eye" to the horrors of Russia's invasion. Beijing also wants to broker peace China has also mooted a mediation role for itself in the conflict. Beijing describes itself as a neutral party but Western nations have criticized its close ties with Russia. In March, Beijing brokered a resumption of ties between Saudi and its arch-regional foe Iran. Beijing said Friday it would send its special representative for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, to Jeddah. Like China, India has maintained close ties with Russia and refused to condemn it for the war and while ramping up imports of Russian oil. CFR analyst Charles Kupchan told DW: "it's important to have these conversations going because ultimately we will likely get to a point where it's time to shift from the battlefield to the negotiating table. China has an important role to play here, mainly because if anybody has influence over Putin, it is Xi Jinping. We will need China to lean on Moscow at the appropriate moment."

As 'Operation Kaveri' continues, 360 Indians left Jeddah Airport on a flight bound for New Delhi and will soon be reunited with their families, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said on Wednesday. As the fighting between the Sudanese Army and paramilitary groups intensified in the capital Khartoum, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar informed on Monday that its 'Operation Kaveri' to evacuate its citizens from battle-torn Sudan is underway. Operation Kaveri is a rescue operation launched by the central government to evacuate stranded Indian citizens from Sudan. "Happy to see off 360 Indians at Jeddah Airport in a flight bound for New Delhi They will be reaching the motherland soon, reuniting with their families Under #OperationKaveri the Government is working relentlessly to evacuate Indian nationals from Sudan & bring them home safely," MoS Muraleedharan tweeted. India has deployed its military planes and warships to rescue Indians from there. Sudan is experiencing bloodshed as a result of clashes between the army and paramilitary forces. Even though there is a 72-hour ceasefire, there have been allegations of violence. Fighting has erupted between soldiers loyal to Sudanese army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, paramilitary Rapid Support Soldiers (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. The evacuation operation started in Port Sudan. Till now, an estimated 300-500 Indian citizens have been evacuated by ship and other evacuation processes are going on. The government sources also stated that the INS Teg is stationed at Port Sudan to bring back Indians from there to Jeddah. Earlier, the INS Sumedha has already disembarked 278 Indians from there to Jeddah. INS Tarkash is in the vicinity to take part in the operations there, according to Government sources. Now, private carriers in India are also showing their willingness to operate charter flights from India to Jeddah for evacuation. India's low-cost carrier Indigo has offered its services to the government regarding evacuation under Operation Kaveri. Previously, France Embassy in India informed that their country has evacuated some Indians along with citizens of 27 other countries as part of its evacuation mission from violence-hit Sudan. Earlier, on Saturday, Saudi Arabia said it has evacuated 66 citizens of "brotherly and friendly" foreign countries that included a few Indian nationals from the conflict-hit nation. The evacuation came days after Jaishankar spoke to his Saudi Arabia counterpart. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday chaired a high-level meeting to review the security situation in Sudan. 

A hotline service was inaugurated for the expatriate Bangladeshis to communicate with the consulate in Jeddah of Saudi Arabia beyond the existing telephonic service under agreement between expatriates welfare and overseas employment ministry of Bangladesh and International Labor Organization (ILO). Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad Deputy Speaker Md. Fazle Rabbi Mia, MP inaugurated the hotline service at the consulate premises on Monday. On this occasion in a meeting he said, the relation of Bangladesh government with the Saudi government is very friendly and intensive at the moment. The Deputy Speaker said, through this service the Bangladeshi expatriates will be able to talk to the consulate and also can solve their problems instantly. He thanked the consulate for such initiatives. Consul General FM Borhan Uddin presided over the meeting. He said, it is a special initiative of the government for the expatriates which will lessen the distance between the consulate and expatriates. Mentionable, the expatriates can take immediate service from 7 am to 9 pm every day except weekly and other holidays without any fee. The hotline number is-8002440051. In the program freedom fighters, consulate officials, Bangladeshi professionals in Jeddah, businessmen, community leaders and media representatives were present. AH