A Qatari official said Doha could potentially host diplomats from Russia and Ukraine for negotiations aimed at ending the war. Qatar recently played a crucial role in brokering the release of American prisoners in Iran.
In an interview with Newsweek, Qatari diplomat Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Khulaifi said Doha could play a role in ending the war in Ukraine. “If asked to mediate in the Ukraine conflict, we would of course be ready to work towards facilitating dialogue and achieving peace in Europe.”
“This is desperately needed,” he stated. “In fact, Qatar supports any and all constructive dialogue and negotiations that could lead to an end of the conflict. As has been our position from the beginning, we continue to call for an immediate cessation of military action in Ukraine.”
Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin offered the White House a proposal that included ending NATO expansion to avert the conflict. The Joe Biden administration declined to engage Russian President Vladimir Putin on several of Moscow’s key negotiation points.
After the war began, Israel and Turkey hosted Ukrainian and Russian negotiators for talks. In both cases, Washington actively prevented negotiations. Khulaifi noted that Qatar was a “strategic partner” of the US, and Doha negotiated the recent agreement between the US and Iran. As well as brokering the recent prisoner swap deal with Iran and the US, Qatar is providing banking services to ensure the agreement is upheld.
During the interview, Khulaifi also suggested that Qatar could use the prisoner deal as a springboard for negotiations to further improve the relationship between Washington and Tehran. The agreement “was the result of more than two years of diplomacy initiated at the request of both sides.” He hopes the agreement “can pave the way for wider discussions on the nuclear issue and other outstanding disagreements.”
It appears unlikely that a Ukrainian delegation will meet with Russian negotiators in the immediate future. President Zelensky has signed a decree outlawing talks with Russia so long as Putin remains in power. Moscow has signaled that it currently plans to achieve its goals in Ukraine militarily.
