On the eve of his first visit to Ukraine, Friday, August 23, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said “convinced that no problem can be solved on a battlefield.” His trip to kyiv, the first since the start of the Russian invasion, comes as Ukrainian troops continue their offensive in Russia, where they claim to control 1,263 km2 and 93 localities.
In early July, Mr Modi had sparked the anger of Volodymyr Zelensky after he was photographed hugging Vladimir Putin during a trip to Moscow, at the very moment a children's hospital had just been bombed in kyiv. In Ukraine, he intends to discuss with the Ukrainian president the “prospects for a peaceful settlement of the ongoing Ukrainian conflict”.
A “peaceful settlement” still seems far away. However, indirect talks, held in the greatest secrecy, have recently taken place between Ukraine and Russia, the Washington Post August 17. The aim was to negotiate a “historic agreement ending strikes on energy and electricity infrastructure on both sides”the equivalent of a “partial ceasefire and reprieve for both countries”Russian and Ukrainian delegations were due to meet in Doha in late August, but the Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region, launched on August 6, interrupted the process. “Russia did not cancel the talks, it said we had to wait a little while”specifies the American daily.
A source close to the case confirms to World the existence of these talks. The idea emerged after the Ukraine peace conference, which took place in mid-June in Switzerland. “Qatar offered to host energy talks and wanted Russia and Ukraine to participate in them to achieve concrete and tangible results. But the recent escalation [l’incursion ukrainienne à Koursk] postponed this decision until further notice. The talks were to take place in person at the end of August”the same source said. Qatar has already served as a mediator between the belligerents in order to free dozens of Ukrainian children illegally transferred to Russia or the occupied territories.
Astonishment in Ukraine
A Ukrainian diplomatic source clarified that World that Ukraine “relies heavily on the Qatari channel, which has been working with President Zelensky's entire team for a long time”It is probably no coincidence that the conference in Switzerland, to which Russia was not invited, was held in the Bürgenstock Alpine hotel complex, owned by a Qatari hotel chain.
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Source: Lemonde
