• Saudi Arabia will next month host a Ukrainian-organized summit aimed at bringing Ukraine's war with Russia to a close, multiple reports confirmed over the weekend. POLITICO
• According to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the plans, talks will be held in the city of Jeddah on August 5 and 6, and will involve senior diplomats from up to 30 nations including the US, UK, Poland, Egypt, Mexico, and Zambia. Officials with knowledge of the plans have said Russia will not be involved. Middle East Eye
• Details of the talks were also reported by the Associated Press before Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, confirmed the plans in a speech on Sunday. However, he did not specify the exact time or location of the summit. Associated Press (a)
• Speaking in the Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk, Yermak said: "The Ukrainian Peace Formula contains ten fundamental points, the implementation of which will not only ensure peace for Ukraine, but also create mechanisms to counter future conflicts in the world." President
• He continued, saying: "We are deeply convinced that the Ukrainian peace plan should be taken as a basis, because the war is taking place on our land." Adding that, "in the process of consultations," Ukraine's presidential office aims to consider all "opinions and positions that do not contradict the key principles of international law and the provisions of the UN Charter." President
• Ukraine maintains that Russia cannot engage in peace talks until it withdraws all troops from the nation and is prosecuted for war crimes at an international court. Meanwhile, Russia has stated that it is open to negotiations, but that they must assess "the realities of today" — i.e. Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea and other territorial gains made in the course of the war. Associated Press (b)

Pro-Ukraine narrative:

• Ukraine has never refused to negotiate with Russia, but before dialogue can begin, Moscow must first return all of Ukraine's occupied lands, pay compensation for the damage caused by the war, and be prosecuted for the war crimes it has committed. Only then can it meaningfully engage in the peace process.
  Los Angeles Times

Pro-Russia narrative:

• Russia has consistently been open to negotiations with Ukraine. In fact, a draft agreement was previously reached, but after Russia withdrew from Kyiv to facilitate the deal, Kyiv abandoned the process and outlawed the possibility of future talks with Russia. If Ukraine want's peaceful negotiations, the ball is in its court.
  TASS

Nerd narrative:

• There's a 10% chance that there will be a bilateral cease-fire or peace agreement in the Russo-Ukraine conflict before 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
  Metaculus (LR: 3 CP: 3)