Details of talks in Jeddah to be disclosed in several years - Foreign Ministry

“The negotiations in Jeddah were among the most interesting of those in which I had to participate. It was from the point of view of the art of diplomacy, strategic thinking, the search for non-standard solutions, a competent 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, by the President of Ukraine, who remotely guided its actions. Of course, all the details can be revealed only after many years,” the speaker of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Heorhiy Tykhiy, wrote.

According to him, in the final stages of work on the draft of the joint statement, which lasted several hours, the key role was played personally Zelensky.

“It was he who directed the actions of the delegation to an ironclad defense of a number of principled positions and wise flexibility with regard to others, which allowed to reach the final positive result,” the speaker said.

Tykhiy noted the duration of the negotiations - eight hours almost continuously.

“It is in these final hours of the endgame, when fatigue is already making itself felt, that it suddenly becomes possible to break the stalemate and even heavy compromises. In short, the one who is able to pull the last kilometer and a half on sheer willpower and character gains the upper hand. And also - to control emotions. In fact, in the days leading up to the meeting, this was a key task, which I think we all managed to accomplish,” he said.

He noted the importance of the fact that the meeting took place in the crosshairs of TV cameras and in a thick cloud of knowledgeable sources, which defined the boundaries of the space for compromise and influenced the negotiating positions.

“Ukraine has just completely seized the strategic diplomatic initiative and changed the game,” he said.

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