US media broke the news: Ukraine's surprise attack interrupted Russia-Ukraine secret negotiations
2024-08-18
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On August 17, US time, The Washington Post published an exclusive report saying that Ukraine's sudden offensive on Russia's Kursk Oblast has undermined Qatar's efforts to facilitate secret negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
Screenshot of The Washington Post report
Over the past year or so, Russia has attacked Ukraine's power grid facilities with cruise missiles and drones, causing rolling blackouts across Ukraine. Ukraine, in turn, has used long-range drones to attack oil facilities in Russia. The Washington Post, citing diplomats and officials familiar with the negotiations, reported that Ukraine and Russia had planned to send delegations to Doha, the capital of Qatar, this month to secretly negotiate a landmark agreement with the Qatari government as a mediator to stop attacks on both sides' energy and power infrastructure and provide a respite for both countries.
Qatar has been discussing with Russia and Ukraine for the past two months, hoping to reach an agreement to allow Russia and Ukraine to suspend attacks on energy infrastructure. The official said that Russia and Ukraine agreed to hold talks in Doha, and only some details need to be agreed upon. Officials said that some people involved in the negotiations also hope to reach a more comprehensive agreement to end the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
However, the secret indirect negotiations were interrupted by Ukraine's sudden attack on Russia's Kursk region. A person familiar with the negotiations said, "After the Kursk incident, the Russians hesitated."
A diplomat with knowledge of the talks said Russian officials postponed a meeting with Qatari officials after Ukraine's offensive in western Russia, describing the Ukrainian offensive as an "escalation". "Russia did not cancel the talks, they said give us time," the diplomat said, adding that Ukraine had not warned Qatar of its cross-border offensive and that Qatar had rejected Ukraine's request to send a delegation to Doha despite Ukraine's insistence on sending a delegation because it believed there was no benefit in one-sided talks.
According to US media, there has never been any report exposing the planned secret negotiations and the possible agreement between the two sides. The willingness to participate in the negotiations shows that the attitudes of Russia and Ukraine have changed. The report said that the Ukrainians hope to emulate the Black Sea Agreement of July 2022 and reach a potential agreement to stop attacks on energy infrastructure.
The Ukrainian president's office said in a statement in response to questions from The Washington Post that the meeting was postponed "due to the situation in the Middle East" but will be held via video on August 22. The Kremlin did not respond to a request for comment. The White House declined to comment on the matter.
