The two sides are reportedly working on an arrangement that would shield nuclear facilities from being targeted
Russia and Ukraine are supposedly holding some “limited talks” in Qatar, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing its sources on the Russian side. The negotiations are reportedly focused on preventing threats to nuclear facilities amid the ongoing conflict between the two neighbors, the media outlet said.
Bloomberg’s Ukrainian sources did not confirm the information and maintained that the only talks held between the two nations are linked to prisoner exchanges. Earlier on Wednesday, Moscow and Kiev confirmed the latest POW swap, which involved 25 servicemen from each side.
The media outlet did not provide any details about the alleged negotiations. The Russian authorities have not commented on the report so far. According to Bloomberg, the Kremlin also did not respond to a request for comment.
In August 2024, the Washington Post claimed that Moscow and Kiev were supposedly holding talks on a potential moratorium on striking energy infrastructure in the summer of that year, allegedly also mediated by Qatar. The negotiations were reportedly thwarted by the Ukrainian incursion into the Russian Kursk border region in early August, the US media outlet stated.
Moscow then refuted the report, saying that “no one has derailed anything.” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov brushed this information off as mere “rumors.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at that time that no “security regimes” for critical infrastructure were discussed by the two sides. According to Zakharova, Moscow and Kiev did not engage in any talks since spring 2022 when peace talks between the two neighbors collapsed following Kiev’s withdrawal. Russia then blamed Western interference for the development.
In November 2024, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman, Majed bin Mohammed al-Ansari, told journalists that his nation’s mediation efforts in the Ukraine conflict go beyond the humanitarian efforts aimed at helping children affected by the hostilities to reunite with their families.
According to al-Ansari, Qatar has always pursued a policy aimed at “reaching peace.” The spokesman also stated that time that Doha was supporting all the efforts aimed at achieving a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
Kiev has refused direct talks with Moscow ever since Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky signed a relevant decree in autumn 2022. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga confirmed in an interview with European Pravda published on Wednesday that Ukraine’s government still sticks to its moratorium policy. He also said that Kiev would wait for further contacts with the US before making any moves.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that it was ready for peace talks at any moment without any preconditions other than those agreed upon in Istanbul in 2022. The draft treaty involved Kiev agreeing to a neutral status and accepting restrictions on foreign weaponry deployment on Ukrainian territory.
