Behind The Scenes Of Jeddah Talks: Ukraine Changed The Game Course

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry revealed interesting details.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky remotely directed the actions of the Ukrainian delegation at the negotiations with the Americans in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). This was stated by the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Heorhiy Tykhyy.

He called these negotiations “one of the most interesting of those in which I had to participate” from the point of view of the art of diplomacy, strategic thinking, the search for non-standard solutions, the right balance of flexibility and firmness, the ability to take tactical steps for the sake of the ultimate goal.

“All this was demonstrated yesterday by the Ukrainian delegation and, above all, the President of Ukraine, who remotely directed its actions. Of course, all the details can only be revealed many years later,” Tykhyy noted.

However, he noted that he could share several nuances publicly that would not do any harm. Tykhyy recalled that the negotiations lasted more than eight hours in total — almost continuously, if you do not count the lunch, during which work was also underway.

“Historians underestimate the role of human exhaustion in making historical decisions. It is in these last hours of the endgame, when fatigue is already making itself felt, that a way out of the impasse and even difficult compromises suddenly become possible. In short, the mountain is taken by the one who is able to pull out the last kilometer and a half on sheer willpower and character. And also — to control emotions. Actually, in the days preceding the meeting, this was a key task, which we all, I believe, generally coped with,” he added.

The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also noted that an important nuance was the emotional and informational background of the meeting. It determined the boundaries of the space for compromise and influenced the negotiating positions. The evening before the meeting, the information space was completely filled with articles from “unnamed sources”. The presence of the media on site and professional work with them were important.

Tykhyy separately thanked the press secretary of the US State Department Tammy Bruce and her team for professional cooperation in a friendly atmosphere.

The speaker also noted that the personal role of the negotiators is of great importance. He shared some details of the negotiations.

“The Ukrainian delegation included both the diplomatic and military blocs, everyone proved extremely professional, principled and wise. I remember how, at one of the most difficult moments, towards the end, Minister Andriy Sybiha looked at me half-turned and his expression read “well, well”, but also a calm “everything will be fine”. In the final stages of work on the draft of the joint statement, which lasted several hours, the key role was played personally by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. It was he who directed the delegation's actions to the ironclad defense of a number of fundamental positions and wise flexibility in relation to others, which allowed us to reach a final positive result,” noted Tykhyy.

He added that some details of the negotiations and decisions were announced publicly.

There are no additional comments on this matter. However, Tykhyy added separately that on the plane he “learned a short, dry confirmation from our diplomats in Poland that all processes in Rzeszów (on restoring aid from the United States — editorial note) had just been restored.” The Foreign Ministry spokesman also added that he watched how “firefighters were driving around and people were bustling about” in the Russian information space.

“Because they saw that Ukraine had just completely seized the strategic diplomatic initiative and changed the course of the game,” he added.

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