War in Ukraine: Secret talks between Moscow and Kyiv disrupted by Kursk offensive
Confidential negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, under the aegis of Qatar, were being conducted to obtain a partial ceasefire. This was interrupted by the offensive in Kursk.

By Marie Jégo, Ghazal Golshiri and Faustine Vincent

Published yesterday at 12:55 pm (Paris)
4 min read

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the NATO summit in Washington, July 11, 2024.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the NATO summit in Washington, July 11, 2024. YVES HERMAN / REUTERS
On the eve of his first visit to Ukraine on Friday, August 23, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he “firmly believes that no problem can be solved on the battlefield.” His visit to Kyiv, the first since the start of the Russian invasion, comes as Ukrainian troops have been continuing their offensive in Russia, where they claim to control 1,263 square kilometers and 93 towns.

At the beginning of July, Modi angered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when he was photographed embracing Russian President Vladimir Putin during a trip to Moscow, right after a children’s hospital was bombed in Kyiv. In Ukraine’s capital, he intends to “share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict” with Zelensky.

A “peaceful resolution” still appears to be a long way off. Indirect talks, conducted in the utmost secrecy, had nevertheless been taking place recently between Ukraine and Russia, The Washington Post revealed on August 17. The aim was to negotiate a “landmark agreement halting strikes on energy and power infrastructure on both sides,” amounting to a “partial ceasefire [offering] a reprieve for both countries.” Russian and Ukrainian delegations were due to meet in Doha at the end of August, but Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region, launched on August 6, interrupted the process. Russia “didn’t call off the talks, they said give us time,” said a diplomatic source quoted by the American daily.

A source close to the matter confirmed to Le Monde the existence of these talks. The idea emerged after the Ukraine peace summit held in Switzerland in mid-June. “Qatar offered to host negotiations on energy, and wanted Russia and Ukraine to participate in order to achieve concrete, tangible results. But the recent escalation [the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk] has postponed this decision until further notice. The talks were supposed to take place in person at the end of August,” added the same source. Qatar had already served as mediator between the warring parties in order to free dozens of Ukrainian children illegally transferred to Russia and the occupied territories.

Astonishment in Ukraine
A Ukrainian diplomat told Le Monde that his country “relies heavily on the Qatari channel, which has been working with President Zelensky’s entire team for a long time.” It’s probably no coincidence that the summit in Switzerland, to which Russia was not invited, was held at the Bürgenstock Alpine resort, owned by a Qatari hotel chain.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives at the closing conference of the Ukraine Peace Summit, held at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland, on June 16, 2024.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives at the closing conference of the Ukraine Peace Summit, held at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland, on June 16, 2024. ALESSANDRO DELLA VALLE / AFP
The same diplomat said that “Russia has done everything it could to sabotage” this conference, adding a strange comment that seemed to contradict the efforts undertaken to negotiate with Moscow: “It may seem odd to say that negotiating peace without Russia is possible, but, in fact, it is, and we’re going to work on it.”

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