There are small but important steps forward in inter-diplomacy to note Russia And Ukraine. The two countries have in fact held face-to-face negotiations for the first time on the exchange of 48 children displaced by war. The negotiations were held in Doha, with the decisive mediation of Qatar. “For the first time we had face-to-face talks with the Ukrainian side. Twenty-nine children will go to Ukraine and 19 to Russia“, he has declared Maria Lvova-BelovaKremlin Commissioner for Children’s Rights.
Negotiations on the exchange of children
Qatar said it mediated it exchange of Russian-Ukrainian children in response to requests from Moscow and Kiev to explore potential areas of cooperation. “As a result of the negotiations, we have drawn up a list of 29 children who will have to go to Ukraine and 19 to Russia“, explained Lvova-Belova, without providing further details on the matter. Recall that Lvova-Belova and the Russian President Vladimir Putin are wanted by International Criminal Court due to alleged transfers of Ukrainian children to Russia by Moscow, which were considered a war crime.
Kiev claimed that approx 20,000 children they would have been forced to move to Russia since the Kremlin launched its offensive on Ukrainian territory in February 2022, and that so far fewer than 400 have been returned. Lvova-Belova called this figure “false” and stated that it dates back to the first period of the Russian offensive, when the front line was constantly changing. In any case, Moscow denies any accusation, stating for its part that it had transferred the children away from the combat zones to ensure their safety.
As reported by the site The Moscow Times, some parents of the aforementioned children would have been killed, while other very young people would have been taken away from their homes. The Ukrainian government claims that Moscow forces have them illegally deported in Russia, and accuses the Kremlin of wanting to erase their Ukrainian identity. Teenagers who returned to Ukrainian territory said they received a patriotic Russian education and were forced to praise the Russian army.
Dialogue between Russia and Ukraine and Qatar’s mediation
In the past few hours the Russian agency Tax reported that at least 37 children from Russia and Ukraine were in Qatar to receive medical care as part of Doha’s mediation efforts to reunite families separated by the Ukrainian conflict.
“Regarding mediation efforts to bring war-affected Ukrainian and Russian children home, we announced the arrival in Qatar of 20 war-affected Ukrainian and Russian children, including 37 as part of a program to provide them with complete medical assistance“said the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Majed Al-Ansari.
The diplomat explained that ten Ukrainian families, including 16 children, and ten Russian families, including 21 children, arrived in Doha on April 18. According to the spokesperson, they will remain in the Qatari capital until April 27. On March 21, Russia, again through the mediation of Qatar, handed over five children to Ukrainian families, while another child was returned to relatives in Russia.
Negotiations, at least on this front, appear to be continuing.
