Ukraine would not be opposed if Qatar or any other country were to negotiate an agreement on energy security via separate talks with Ukraine and Russia, a top Ukrainian presidential official says.
But Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, said there was no such agreement in place.
"We held thematic conferences - the first on energy security, co-organised by Qatar," Yermak said in a televised interview released on Monday.
"After that, we said that if Qatar or another country is ready to implement these agreements (reached at the conference) through deals with Ukraine separately and with Russia separately, please do so."
Yermak did not specify which agreements might be in question but said no agreement had been reached yet and that Ukraine was not negotiating directly with Russia, which began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Ukrainian presidential office said in late August that about 40 countries had taken part in an online conference organised by Qatar and that the main topic was improving the security of the Ukrainian energy system against Russian strikes.
The online conference took place on August 22, soon after Ukrainian forces entered Russia's Kursk region in early August.
Since March, Russia has carried out about 10 big missile attacks on the Ukrainian energy system, causing Ukraine to lose almost half of its generating capacity.
"Protecting energy infrastructure facilities, their rapid restoration and development is the only way to prevent the deepening of the crisis," Yermak said in August.
The Financial Times reported in October that Ukraine and Russia were in the early stages of negotiations about potentially halting air strikes on each other's energy facilities.
The talks, the sources told the FT, had been derailed by Ukrainian forces launching an incursion into Russia's Kursk region that borders Ukraine.
The Kremlin and a Ukrainian energy source dismissed that report.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy highlighted increased arms deliveries from allies at a meeting with leading military figures on Monday.
"The results regarding deliveries for artillery have improved," he said in a Telegram message.
This means that Ukraine's partners have moved closer to the pledges they have made, he said.
Last Wednesday, Zelenskiy complained that his country had only received about 10 per cent of the aid approved by the US Congress.
The topic of expanding Ukrainian drone production was also raised, particularly with regard to long-range drones.
Manufacturers are to receive three- to five-year contracts in a bid to give producers a perspective for development and investment.
with DPA
