Venue is very important in global diplomacy. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Jeddah on Tuesday while leaders of the US and Russia had gathered in Riyadh last month. The purpose of both the diplomatic huddles was the same but the venue differed according to the players involved in it.
For Pakistani readers, Jeddah is a known literary term also.
Sharifudin Pirzada was called the Jadugar of Jeddah in Pakistan. Ardeshir Cowasjee had given him this title. Cowasjee was the last columnist at Dawn, as after him a generation of NGO employees and other job seekers is presented to Pakistani readers as English language columnists.
Neither Pirzada nor Cowasjee is among us anymore. Cowasjee called Pirzada Jadugar of Jeddah because like every bureaucrat, Pirzada would conjure up laws and regulations and invent absurdities like the doctrine of necessity and other nonsenses.
But when Cowasjee coined this term, magic, and sorcery were treated as a crime in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Now it is not so and magic shows are held in Jeddah. Jeddah is also a center for business and trade and serves as a gateway to Mecca for pilgrims.
Jeddah has many other attractions like the under-construction 1-Kilometer tall Jeddah Tower that would dwarf UAE's identity card Burj Khalifa in a couple of years. It is not the main city for diplomacy and decision making.
This is where Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman granted the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky an audience on Monday after breaking fast separately. Both Rubio and Zelensky had separate issues to present to the Crown Prince.
The US State Department stated that Rubio "discussed Yemen and threats to navigation from Houthi terrorists that threaten global commerce, American interests, and Saudi citizens and infrastructure. The Secretary talked about Syria, and ways to promote a stable government, free of terrorism."
Zelensky, on the other hand, stated, "We discussed in detail with Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud the steps and conditions needed to end the (Russia-Ukraine) war and ensure lasting peace. He (MBS) emphasised the importance of prisoner releases and the return of children, which could serve as key confidence-building measures in diplomatic efforts. A significant part of our conversation focused on security guarantees."
The Kingdom treated the smaller GCC states diplomatically so that their majority now understands that their interests are protected well as long as they stay in unity
It was not possible for Zelensky to be in audience with the crown prince. Basically, Riyadh is the largest city of the Kingdom and is meant for global diplomacy and politics. The 2-kilometer tall Riyadh Tower, construction of which is planned to start soon, will be doubly taller than Jeddah Tower.
I have written earlier on February 18 in a writeup titled "History in making as Riyadh brings US, Russia closer than ever" that the US and Russian foreign ministers had a history-reshaping meeting in Riyadh to lay the foundations for a newer and more fortified unipolar world.
At that time, the ruler of UAE was hosting Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky in Dubai where he had shot a volley of statements to discredit Riyadh talks. No one in Riyadh heeded his provocations.
But European leaders were collected in Paris casting aspersions on the prospects of formation of a new world in which the US and Russia resume diplomatic relations. They felt threatened by this new world because Russia would or could replace them as partner in global supremacy with the US.
The EU almost turned irrelevant when the US and Russia agreed to cement their ties and settle down the war with Ukraine in Riyadh last month. It held many steamy sessions where none of its serious members, other than France, expressed willingness to poke the fires in Ukraine.
These EU sessions were not very impressive gatherings. To put it mildly, we witnessed a lot of rants and foaming at the mouth in these gatherings. President Donald J. Trump was not willing to foot any more thick payrolls for a warring party that had no strategy to win.
Convinced that fuming and fumbling will not work anymore, the EU diplomats implored the Kingdom to include Zelensky in the peace talks with Russia. The Kingdom, being the leader of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), agreed to do it mainly for their support on the Gaza issue.
At the start, EU was a role model for Gulf states. When the Iran-Iraq war started, these states came under the leadership of Saudi Arabia to form GCC. Its aims were the same as the EU -- achieving a common currency and working as one unit against threats.
But some smaller states felt that Saudi Arabia is too big an ally for them to move ahead. Similarly, some big business ventures were not ready to wean away from petrodollars. Hence, the GCC could never achieve the goals that were set at the time of its formation.
The Kingdom treated the smaller GCC states diplomatically so that their majority now understands that their interests are protected well as long as they stay in unity. On the other hand, the EU failed to grasp the moment when Saudi Arabia announced its Vision 2030.
Its members were more attracted to the easygoing attitude of tiny states than the substantial growth that Saudi Arabia was offering. It was not until the start of the 2000s that these states, like other developed countries of the world, began to realise that Vision 2030 is the reality they need to adapt to.
Zelensky's meeting with the Crown Prince may be put in the context of EU-GCC relations. Mindful of sending the right diplomatic messages, Saudi Arabia set Jeddah, not Riyadh, as the venue for this meeting. Jeddah "talks were held at the direction of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and took place in the presence of the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Minister of State and Member of the Council of Ministers Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban," reports Arab News.
Leaders of Russia and the US will meet in Riyadh. State heads of Europe and China will land in Riyadh. Riyadh will be the first destination of Donald J. Trump after assuming presidency a second time. Riyadh was also his first destination for a state visit during his first term in office.