China to attend talks on Ukraine in Saudi Arabia that exclude Russia

China said on Friday it would send a senior official to Saudi Arabia for weekend talks on the war in Ukraine that exclude Russia, a diplomatic coup for Ukraine, the West and the Saudi hosts.

Ukrainian and Western diplomats hope the meeting in Jeddah of national security advisers and other senior officials from some 40 countries will agree on key principles for a future peace settlement to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

Chinese Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui will visit Jeddah for the talks, China's foreign ministry said on Friday.

"China is willing to work with the international community to continue to play a constructive role in promoting a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine," Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson at the Chinese ministry, said in a statement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday he hoped the initiative will lead to a "peace summit" of leaders from around the world this autumn to endorse the principles, based on his own 10-point formula for a settlement.

Zelensky's plan includes respect for Ukraine's territorial integrity and the withdrawal of Russian troops, anathema to Moscow which claims to have annexed occupied Ukrainian territory forever.

"One of the main aims of this round of negotiations will be to finally fix a common understanding of what the 10 points are about," Ihor Zhovkva, Zelensky's chief diplomatic adviser, told Reuters on Thursday.