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Seoul looking at sending its representative to consultations on Ukraine in Saudi Arabia

According to Yonhap, Seoul may commission to Jeddah an employee of the presidential administration’s national security department

SEOUL, August 3. /TASS/. South Korea is looking at sending its representative to the Kiev-and the West-initiated consultations on Ukraine to be held in Saudi Arabia later in the week, Yonhap reported on Thursday, citing government sources.

According to the news agency, Seoul may commission to Jeddah an employee of the presidential administration’s national security department. This step reveals South Korea’s growing interest in settling the Ukrainian conflict.

South Korea’s leader Yoon Suk Yeol visited Kiev in mid-July and met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. Following the visit, Seoul announced a range of assistance packages to Ukraine.

On July 29, The Wall Street Journal quoted sources as saying that Saudi Arabia planned to hold peace talks on Ukraine in Jeddah on August 5-6. According to the newspaper, senior officials from 30 countries will attend the meeting. Russia is not on the list. It is said that the European Union, Britain, Poland and South Africa have already confirmed their participation in the consultations, and the presence of US presidential national security advisor Jake Sullivan is expected.

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow will keep an eye on the peace meeting on Ukraine due in Saudi Arabia, but its aims are yet to be understood. According to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, 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.