Qatar Emir arrives in Moscow for talks with Putin on Ukraine and Middle East

Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, arrived in Moscow on Thursday for talks with President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine and Middle East issues, on a trip that the Kremlin described as very important.

Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the two leaders would have a “serious conversation” on a range of issues and sign various agreements, Reuters reports.

“It is difficult to over-estimate the role of Qatar, as a whole, now in many regional and even world affairs. Qatar is our good partner, Russian-Qatari relations are developing very dynamically, contacts between the heads of state are quite frequent,” Peskov told reporters.

Qatar has made a series of attempts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, and has helped arrange the return of children from both countries, who were separated from their parents during the war.

Russia and Qatar said this week that the leaders would discuss efforts to find a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to end the “bloodbath”, but has yet to achieve a breakthrough. Moscow has said it is not easy to agree a settlement.

Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, told the TASS state news agency that the Emir’s talks with Putin would touch on Ukraine, Syria, the Gaza Strip and energy, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG).

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