MOSCOW

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Moscow on Monday to discuss the situation in Ukraine.

Opening the meeting, Lavrov said he is going to inform Thani about "efforts that Russia is taking in to resolve all the issues that have arisen and accumulated over the years" in Ukraine.

"We are also constantly interested in your assessments, your observations regarding the efforts that can be made to move towards solving numerous conflicts and crises in the Middle East and North Africa," he said.

For his part, Thani said he expects peaceful solutions to the Ukrainian conflict will be found in the near future.

"Qatar intends to make every possible effort to find diplomatic solutions and find a peaceful solution to the events taking place in Ukraine as soon as possible," he said.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which began Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.

At least 596 civilians have been killed and 1,067 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, according to the UN, which says the actual toll is much higher.

Some 2.8 million people have also fled to neighboring countries, said the UN refugee agency.