Ukraine is trying to get nations that have remained neutral in the conflict with Russia to support it during talks in Saudi Arabia, The New York Times reported.

Working with the Saudis, Ukraine invited 40 diplomats from countries on the sidelines since last year's Russian invasion to talks in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah during the weekend, the outlet's report said.

The invitations went out to nations that have tried to maintain good relations with both Ukraine and Russia during the conflict, as well as Russia-friendly China and Ukrainian allies like the United States and several European nations.

Many of the "neutral" nations, however, see the fight as being more of a proxy war between Russia and the West and do not want to be involved directly, the report said.

"This is not only a conflict between Russia and Ukraine," Celso Amorim, international affairs adviser to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, said in a speech that he delivered virtually during the talks. "This is also a chapter in the longstanding rivalry between Russia and the West," he said, according to a copy of the speech obtained by The New York Times.

Al Jazeera reported that despite the meetings' purpose of hammering out "key principles" of ending the ongoing war, Russia was not invited to the gathering.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is present for the meetings and hopes the outcome can reduce food prices for developing nations, which the conflict has impacted significantly.

"This is very important because, on issues such as food security, the fate of millions of people in Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world directly depends on how fast the world moves to implement the peace formula," the news outlet reported Zelenskyy saying.

According to the report, Russia ended its participation in a United Nations program that allows Ukraine to ship grain and produce through the Black Sea to areas where hunger is an issue.

Zelenskyy also wants whatever agreement emerges from the talks to include Ukraine's "10-point formula for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, the report said.

The EurAsian Times reported that the plan includes Russia's "restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity" and publicly "reaffirming it" in compliance with the U.N. charter, a condition that Zelenskyy has said is "not negotiable."

In addition to ending hostilities and withdrawing from the country, the points also include ensuring Ukraine's nuclear safety from the now Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia atomic reactor and its ability to continue grain exports.

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