At Ukraine’s request, Qatari officials say they are working with Russia to reunite families amid war

The government of Qatar announced Friday that it is fulfilling a process requested by Ukraine to mediate with Russia to reunite minors with their families in Ukraine.

Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, visited Ukraine in July 2023 and Russia in June 2023.

Ukraine requested that Qatar's government negotiate with Russia in order to help Ukrainian minors who had been separated from their families during the war be reunited. 

Qatari officials announced that that process is now beginning to take place.

"The State of Qatar announces the success of its mediation efforts in reuniting a new group of children in Ukraine and Russia with their families, as part of its ongoing efforts to reunite families separated due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine," a Qatari offiicial said.

According to the Qatar government, there are now seven minors that are going to be reunited with their families that are between the ages of 11 and 16.

There are also two Russian minors that have been separated from there parents that are expected to be reunited with their families. The two Russian minors are nine and seven years old.

"The continuous mediation efforts by the State of Qatar to reunite children with their families in Ukraine and Russia are an extension of its approach in mediation and conflict resolution through peaceful means, in accordance with the principles of international law," the Qatari official said. "At the same time, it reflects its unwavering commitment to humanitarian principles and international solidarity."

Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's commissioner for children, said earlier this week that six boys and one girl would be returned to relatives in Ukraine.

"Most of the children lived in Russia with close relatives, mainly with their grandmothers," she said, according to Reuters. "One boy, aged 16, who had been left without parental care since birth, was in the Aleshkinsky orphanage."

According to the outlet, Ukraine states that over 20,000 children were taken to Russian occupied territories without relatives' knowledge.

Moscow has come out and said it protected children from being in an active war zone.