Four Ukrainian children who had been taken to Russia after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine are to be reunited with family following the mediation of Qatar, officers mentioned on Monday.
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Moscow has been accused of bringing 1000’s of Ukrainian children to Russia from Moscow-occupied territories.
The children, aged between two and 17, have been staying on the Qatari embassy in Moscow whereas Doha mediated between Russian and Ukrainian authorities, a diplomat briefed on the method mentioned.
They embody one youngster whose mom has been detained in Russia, and one other who misplaced contact along with his mom as he was in a Russian hospital when the conflict broke out.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin and his children’s rights commissioner Maria-Lvova Belova over the alleged unlawful deportations.
“Both Ukrainian and Russian officials have been cooperative in ensuring the safety and security of the children and their departure to Ukraine,” mentioned the diplomat on situation of anonymity.
“The minors, during their period of separation from their families in Russia, were provided with the relevant care and treatment by the Russian government.”
All four are travelling to Ukraine through third nations together with Qatar, Estonia, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.
Qatar known as the return of the children a “positive step and a gesture of goodwill between the Ukrainian and Russian governments”.
“We understand that today’s breakthrough is only a first step, but we are encouraged by the commitment and openness showed by both sides throughout the process,” Lolwah Al Khater, minister of state for worldwide cooperation, mentioned in a press release.
She added that “we sincerely hope will lead to more initiatives aimed at de-escalating tensions and building trust between the two parties”.
Moscow welcomes Qatar position
Qatar, a gas-rich Gulf monarchy, has acted as a dealer in a number of worldwide disputes, together with final month’s Iran-US prisoner change.
At a press convention in Moscow on Monday, Russia’s children’s rights commissioner didn’t affirm the deal.
But she welcomed Qatar’s “mediatory” position in talks with Ukraine, together with on the “process of reuniting children”.
“They came out as a third party, they are trying to figure (things) out,” she mentioned.
“We hope for a continuation of cooperation.”
Lvova-Belova once more denied that children are being forcibly introduced to Russia from Ukraine as a “lie” and refused to give a quantity of the minors from occupied Ukrainian territories in Russia.
“We don’t lead the statistics,” she mentioned, including that authorities ministries will publish statistics of regional social establishments.
Ukraine has mentioned that “thousands” of its children are at the moment held by Russia.
Lvova-Belova mentioned Moscow at the moment has 17 requests from Ukrainian households to return children, and that authorities had been “working on this”.
Read extraMother Russia: Maria Lvova-Belova, the Putin ally deporting Ukrainian children
The official mentioned she has made 9 journeys to occupied Ukrainian territories and that her workplace had opened “five humanitarian headquarters” there, together with in Mariupol — which was flattened after which captured by Russia early in its invasion.
Lvova-Belova has introduced Russia’s taking of the children as defending them from the battle.
(AFP)
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20231016-qatar-mediates-return-of-four-ukrainian-children-taken-to-russia