The Financial Times reported that Ukraine and Russia are in the early stages of talks about possibly halting air strikes on each other’s energy facilities, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

The FT reported late on Tuesday, citing sources that included senior Ukrainian officials, that Ukraine was seeking to restart talks that came close to a deal in August and Arbitration was done by Qatar.

Sources told the FT that talks were derailed this month by Kiev’s forces in Russia’s Kursk region, which borders Ukraine.

“There are talks very soon about possibly restarting something,” the FT quoted a diplomat who the paper said was briefed on the talks. “Energy facilities are now being negotiated.”

Reuters could not independently verify the report. The Kremlin, the Russian Defense Ministry, the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

The FT said the Kremlin declined to comment and Zelensky’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

Since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbor in 2022, Russian attacks on energy infrastructure have destroyed or seized a large part of Ukraine’s electricity capacity, allowing Kiev to shut down its nuclear power facilities. and has been forced to rely on energy imports from Europe.

European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen said last month that Russia had knocked out gigawatts equivalent to more than half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. The EU aims to restore 2.5 gigawatts of capacity, about 15 percent of the country’s needs, he said, referring to the proposed EU-funded overhaul.

At the start of the war, Ukraine had no powerful long-range weapons, but it has since developed long-range drones and used them to strike targets deep inside Russia. What’s more, it includes everything from oil refineries to power plants and military airfields.

Zelenskiy told the FT earlier in October that the deal to protect energy facilities could signal Russia’s willingness to join broader peace talks. Moscow says it wants peace but has set conditions that Kiev finds unacceptable.

(Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)



Source link