Russia and Qatar will continue contacts on the situation in Ukraine, Moscow appreciates Doha's desire to contribute to the settlement in this direction, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday at a press conference following talks with Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
"I think we both found this conversation useful and agreed to continue our contacts on this topic. We, I want to stress once again, very much appreciate Qatar's interest in contributing to the desired results," the Russian minister said.
Lavrov pointed to the special attention that the Qatari leadership and personally Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani pay to this issue. "We appreciate that Qatar is willing and trying to use its capabilities to help reach agreement on those issues that are now on the agenda, taking into account the interests of pan-European security, including the security of Ukraine, the security of Russia, and taking into account the need to make sure that no threats to the Russian Federation come from Ukraine," the Russian foreign minister said.
He stressed that there should also be no threats for those who want to protect the Russian language, Russian culture, Russian traditions, including religious ones, "and for people who want to live in the country without being subjected to any discrimination, especially discrimination related to neo-Nazi manifestations."
Important role
Qatar plays an important role in stabilizing Afghanistan and providing funding for humanitarian programs in the country, Lavrov said.
"Qatar is playing together with other external players a very important role in the efforts to stabilize the situation, including providing funding for humanitarian programs that are so desperately needed by the population of this long-suffering country," the Russian foreign minister said.
After Washington announced in spring 2021 that it had decided to withdraw its armed forces from Afghanistan, the Taliban began a large-scale operation to take control of the country. On August 15, the Taliban fighters entered Kabul without a fight, and President Ashraf Ghani left the country. On September 6, the Taliban announced that they had taken control of all of Afghanistan, and on September 7, they announced the composition of the provisional government, the legitimacy of which has not been recognized by any country so far.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine in response to an appeal for help from the leaders of the Donbas republics. He stressed that Moscow does not plan to occupy Ukrainian territories; the goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country.
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Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS