On March 21, Maria Lvova-Belova and Ambassador of Qatar to Russia Ahmed Al Thani met with children, their relatives, as well as accompanying and authorised persons, at the Embassy of the State of Qatar in the Russian Federation.
The Commissioner noted that four of the children who were sent to their relatives in Ukraine lived in Russian social institutions, and one teenage girl lived with her grandfather in Russia.
Maria Lvova-Belova stressed that the work to reunite children with their families is carried out on instructions from President of Russia Vladimir Putin. She thanked representatives of Qatar for their support: it is Qatar that covers transport and other expenses and helps to reach the necessary agreements. The Commissioner also expressed her gratitude to the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross who provide logistics via third countries, the State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus, and the border authorities of the Russian Federation.
As a result of this work with support from the Commissioner’s Office, 64 minors who were in Russia were reunited with their families in Ukraine and other countries. In total, assistance was provided to 47 families, not counting those children who were sent from the Kherson, Zaporozhye, Kharkov regions and other territories to stay in health resorts in the south of Russia in the autumn of 2022 by their parents who were unable to come to take them in due time. In addition, six children were reunited with four families in Russia.