Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy renewed his appreciation for Qatar’s mediation in the reunification of children with their families during his phone call with Sheikh Tamim.
Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed a 10-point peace formula over the phone on Monday, the Ukrainian leader said on his X page.
“We spoke in detail about further work on putting the Peace Formula into action and organising the Global Peace Summit. I invited Qatar’s representative to the relevant meeting of advisors in Davos,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian leader presented his peace plan during 2022’s G-20 Summit in Indonesia, entailing 10 points to end the war on his country that has continued since February 24, 2022.
Zelenskyy also discussed the initiative with the leaders of Bahrain and Kuwait in separate phone calls on Monday.
The plan entails the withdrawal of Russian forces, restoring security in the Zaporizhzhia power plant, protecting grain exports to poor nations, and releasing prisoners — including children deported to Russia.
At least 20,000 children were illegally taken to Russia since the start of Moscow’s war on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, some of whom had been put up for adoption, according to Reuters.
On October 16, Qatar secured the repatriation of four Ukrainian children from Russia following Kyiv’s request. Qatar then reunified six additional Ukrainian children with their families on December 5.
On November 19, joint mediation by Qatar and the United Nations led to the release of orphaned Ukrainian teenager, Bohdan Yermokhin, from Mariupol after being taken to Russia during the war.
Zelenskyy renewed his appreciation for Qatar’s mediation in the releases during his phone call with Sheikh Tamim.
“I thanked Qatar for its important mediation role and Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad for his personal stance on the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported by Russia. We discussed further coordination in this area,” Zelenskyy said.
Qatar’s news agency (QNA) separately reported that the phone call touched on “the latest developments in Ukraine” and keeping “all communication channels open in order to resolve the crisis through dialogue and diplomatic means.”
The Gulf state has maintained a balanced foreign policy since the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine, communicating with both sides while repeatedly calling for the need for dialogue to end the conflict.
In July last year, Doha pledged $100 million in aid to Kyiv during a meeting between Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Zelenskyy.
Sheikh Mohammed’s visit to Ukraine came a month after a stopover in Moscow on June 22, where he met Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and the former called for respecting Ukraine’s territorial dignity and independence, as well as the UN Charter.
In March 2022, Qatar was among 141 countries that voted on a UN resolution demanding Russia’s “immediate and complete” withdrawal from Ukraine.
The seasoned Gulf mediator had previously expressed its openness to facilitate dialogue between rivals Russia and Ukraine “if asked” by its international partners, a top diplomat from the Gulf state told Newsweek on October 3, 2023.
The remarks were made during an interview with Qatar’s Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi, who tapped into the country’s record of successful global mediations.
“If asked to mediate in the Ukraine conflict, we would of course be ready to work towards facilitating dialogue and achieving peace in Europe,” Al Khulaifi told the American magazine, noting such mediation is “desperately needed.”
Russia’s war on Ukraine has continued nearly two years on, killing at least 9,444 civilians while injuring 16,940 others, including 1,126 children, according to the UN’s latest figures. The agency believes the actual figure is higher as it works on gathering data from other areas under intense fighting.
The war has internally displaced at least 6.5 million people while forcing five million others to flee to neighbouring European countries, according to the UN.
Speaking at an end-of-year news conference in Ukraine last month, Ukraine has been receiving immense support from the United States and its other Western allies. The U.S. had donated at least $111 billion in military aid to Ukraine whereas Europe donated $29 billion.
Zelenskyy had travelled to Washington on December 13 where he sought to garner more support from President Joe Biden.
In a statement at the time, Zelenskyy said he discussed with Biden “how to increase our strength” for 2024. The U.S. had announced a $200 million military aid package during the visit.
“It’s very important that, by the end of this year, we can send a strong signal of our unity to the aggressor. The unity of Ukraine, America, Europe, and the entire free world,” Zelenskyy said.
