Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko denied in an interview on Ukrainian television on August 24 that indirect negotiations with Russia had taken place to end the attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
“We are not negotiating with terrorists, that’s for sure, especially not behind the scenes. That’s impossible… Of course, we have not conducted these negotiations with the Russians,” Halushchenko said.
On August 18, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also denied a report that the country was holding indirect talks with Ukraine in Qatar about a mutual cessation of attacks on energy infrastructure.
The Washington Post (WP) reported on August 17, citing unnamed official sources, that Russia is preparing secret indirect talks with Ukraine – mediated by Qatar – to stop mutual attacks on energy infrastructure. According to the WP, Ukraine’s intrusion into Russia has thwarted plans for these indirect talks.
According to Halushchenko, an online summit on the third point of the peace formula, energy security, was held on August 22. Over 40 countries and international organizations took part in the summit.
The minister said participants of the event adopted a communiqué.
The document states that attacks on the civilian power grid are a violation of international humanitarian law and the United Nations Charter, Halushchenko said, adding: “Everyone supports this statement.”
The document could be presented to the Russian government and a number of states could act as mediators in this process, said Halushchenko.
Russia launched a massive drone and missile campaign against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in the first months of 2024, destroying or disabling power plants and forcing nationwide power outages.
In return, Ukraine is using long-range drones to attack Russian oil facilities in an attempt to undermine Moscow’s revenues from the fossil fuel sector, one of its main sources of income.
According to the Washington Post, an anonymous diplomatic source told the newspaper that Russian government officials had postponed their meeting with Qatari government officials in light of the Ukrainian border crossing.
Two sources also told WP that senior Ukrainian officials were skeptical of the deal even before the incursion began, estimating its chances of success at 20% or less because they doubted Russia’s sincerity. Other officials hoped it could be a first step toward a broader peace agreement, the newspaper wrote.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify any of the claims.
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