The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, who is presently in Russia as part of a peace-seeking delegation has told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that the conflict in Ukraine must be brought to an end.
Speaking on Sunday morning, Ramaphosa said; ‘This war must be settled… through negotiations and through diplomatic means’.
He added that his delegation, consisting of seven African leaders, “would like this war to be ended.
‘This war is having a negative impact on the African continent and indeed on many other countries around the world,’ Ramaphosa said ahead of formal talks with the Russian president.
Africa Today News, New York reports that on Friday, the delegation held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
‘We have come to listen to you and through you to hear the voice of the Russian people,’ said Comoros President Azali Assoumani, who currently heads the African Union.
‘We wanted to encourage you to enter into negotiations with Ukraine,’ he said.
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African countries have been divided over their response to the conflict, with some siding with Ukraine, while others have remained neutral or gravitated towards Moscow.
Ukraine’s leader said after meeting the leaders that peace talks with Russia would be possible only after Moscow withdrew its forces from occupied Ukrainian territory.
‘We have come to listen to you and through you to hear the voice of the Russian people,’ said Comoros President Azali Assoumani, who currently heads the African Union, told Putin. ‘We wanted to encourage you to enter into negotiations with Ukraine.’
African countries have been divided over their response to the conflict, with some siding with Ukraine, while others have remained neutral or gravitated towards Moscow.
During their meeting with Zelenskyy, the Ukraine president requested the African leaders push Putin to release political prisoners as a confidence-building measure.
Putin, 70, on Saturday, praised the ‘balanced approach’ of African countries towards the Ukraine conflict.
‘We welcome the balanced approach of African friends to the Ukraine crisis,’ Putin told the visiting leaders. ‘We’re open to constructive dialogue with all those who want peace based on the principles of respect for each other’s interests, as well as justice.’
The Russian leader also said exports of Ukrainian grain under a deal ensuring its safe passage through the Black Sea was not helping to resolve Africa’s problems with high global food prices – as only 3 percent has gone to the poorest countries.
Putin said the food crisis had been caused by the actions of Western countries, not by what Russia calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.