Russia’s Lavrov Meets Qatari Counterpart, Calls Israeli Strike On Doha ‘Illogical’

Last Updated:September 11, 2025, 18:46 IST

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 8th round of the Russia–Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Strategic Dialogue

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi. (image via X/@mfa_russia)

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday met with Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi, just days after an Israeli airstrike in Doha killed several Hamas members and a Qatari security officer.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 8th round of the Russia–Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Strategic Dialogue, held at the level of foreign ministers in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia shared a photo of the meeting between Lavrov and his Qatari counterpart on its official X handle.

While the bilateral meeting focused on regional issues, Lavrov addressed the Israeli strike during his remarks at the Russia-GCC Dialogue. He strongly criticised the attack, calling Israel’s actions “illogical” and counterproductive to ongoing ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

“We are deeply concerned by the escalation that occurred on 9th September, when Israel carried out a strike on Doha. We condemn this action by Israel. It is unacceptable to carry out such attacks against sovereign countries,” Lavrov said.

The Russian Foreign Minister pointed out that Qatar has played a key role as a mediator in indirect talks between Israel and Hamas and has been central to ceasefire efforts.

“Such actions will only harm efforts to find peaceful resolutions. We note the lack of logic in Israel’s actions. It is absurd to demand that Hamas meet certain conditions for a ceasefire while simultaneously trying to destroy the negotiating team involved in the process,” he added.

Lavrov also criticised the United States, a close ally of Israel, for failing to prevent the attack despite its active involvement in negotiations.

“All of this happened despite the involvement of the United States—Israel’s close ally—which has a clear interest in seeing the success of the Israel-Hamas negotiations,” he added.

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