A direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiation mediated by Qatar
The Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights announced that Russia and Ukraine for the first time held direct negotiations on children with Qatari mediation, resulting in an agreement to transfer 29 children to Ukraine and 19 to Russia.
The Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Russian Presidency, Maria Lvova Belova, said, “This is the first time we are holding face-to-face talks with the Ukrainian side”.
Belova added, “After negotiations, we agreed on a list that includes 29 children who should be reunited with their relatives in Ukraine and 19 children who will be reunited with their families in Russia”.
She stated that Qatari mediation contributed to facilitating these negotiations.
Belova also pointed out that the news published by Western media about the presence of more than 19,000 Ukrainian children in Russia is false information.
In a related context, the German Interior Ministry had announced that many of the children described by the Ukrainian regime as “kidnapped” by Russia are already on German soil.
It is estimated that around 2 million Ukrainian refugees under the age of 18 arrived in Europe during 2022-2023, reflecting the scale of the impact of the conflict on children and families.
