Kiev and Moscow were planning to send delegations to Qatar to hold “indirect talks” on an agreement to stop strikes on energy facilities and infrastructure, but Ukraine’s invasion of Kursk Region disrupted the process. This was reported by The Washington Post newspaper citing sources.
“Ukraine and Russia were set to send delegations to Doha this month to negotiate a landmark agreement to halt strikes on energy and energy infrastructure on both sides, which would have amounted to a partial ceasefire and offered a reprieve for both countries,” the report said.
According to the newspaper, the “indirect talks,” in which the Qataris acted as mediators and met separately with Ukrainian and Russian delegations, were disrupted by Ukraine’s “unexpected incursion” into Russia’s sovereign territory in the Kursk region.
“Russian officials postponed their meeting with Qatari officials following Ukraine’s incursion into western Russia. <…> Although Ukraine wanted to send its delegation to Doha anyway, Qatar refused because it did not see the benefit of a unilateral meeting,” The Washington Post emphasised.
We shall remind you that earlier The New York Times wrote that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation were systematically advancing towards Pokrovsk, a strategically important city for Ukraine – this puts Kiev’s “Kursk operation” in doubt.