Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani arrived in Moscow on Thursday for key discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin, focusing on the war in Ukraine and broader Middle East developments. The Kremlin described the visit as highly significant.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the two leaders would have a “serious conversation” covering a range of topics and are expected to sign multiple agreements. “It is difficult to overestimate 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 played a notable role in attempting to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, including efforts to reunite children separated from their families during the conflict.
This week, both Moscow and Doha confirmed that discussions between the leaders would include initiatives aimed at achieving a peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
U.S. 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 agenda would also include Syria, the Gaza conflict, and cooperation in the energy sector, particularly involving liquefied natural gas (LNG).
