India will take part in Ukraine peace talks hosted by Saudi Arabia on August 5 and 6, a spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said.
Reuters quoted Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson for India's foreign ministry as saying, “India will participate in this event. Our participation is in consonance with our long-standing position that dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward." Bagchi said India was invited by Saudi Arabia to take part in the peace talks.
Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia invited several Western nations, major developing countries and Ukraine to discuss the peace plan proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to reports, Russia has not been invited to the talks. However, Russia said they will keep an eye on talks in Saudi Arabia.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, representatives from about 30 countries are expected to take part in the event.TASS agency quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying that the meeting in Saudi Arabia will not be useless, if it helps the West realize that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's so-called peace plan is a dead end.
According to reports, Zelenskyy's peace plan proposes the withdrawal of all Russian troops and the restoration of Ukraine's post-Soviet borders.