Moscow has dismissed weekend talks held in Saudi Arabia, which included the US, China, and India, describing the talks as a useless effort by the West to rally support from the Global South for Ukraine in the ongoing conflict with Russia.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov expressed his disdain for the gathering, which aimed to establish principles for a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine. The meeting, attended by senior officials from around 40 countries, was part of Ukraine’s strategy to extend its support network beyond core Western allies, particularly among nations that have hesitated to take a firm stance in the conflict.

TASS quoted Ryabkov as saying the meeting was “a reflection of the West’s attempt to continue futile, doomed efforts to mobilize the international community, and more precisely, the Global South, even if not entirely, in support of the so-called Zelenskyi formula, which is doomed and untenable from the outset.”

On the other hand, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed optimism about the initiative earlier in the week. He said the talks could pave the way for a global peace summit in the coming months, where leaders could endorse principles for a settlement rooted in his own 10-point peace plan. Central to his 10-point peace plan proposal is the withdrawal of Russian troops and the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, a position Russia refuses to agree to.