TheCable

African leaders have met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, to discuss a way to end the 16-months long war.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had said Russia and Ukraine agreed to receive a peace mission chaired by African leaders.

The leaders first visited Ukraine on Friday to meet Zelensky.

The delegation included presidents of Comoros, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia.

It also included Egypt’s prime minister and top envoys from the Republic of Congo and Uganda.

The leaders, led by Ramaphosa, arrived Ukraine by train and were greeted with explosions, forcing them to take shelter in bunkers amid air strikes on the capital Kyiv.

In a statement upon their arrival in Ukraine, the South African president said the aim of the mission is “to seek a road to peace to the 16 months long conflict between Ukraine and Russia which has thus caused devastating economic impact, loss of lives and global instability”.

The leaders then travelled to St. Petersburg on Saturday to meet with Putin who was attending Russia’s showpiece international economic forum.

Dmitry Peskov, Russian spokesperson, reportedly said the peace initiative proposed by African countries is “very difficult to implement, difficult to compare positions”, but that “President Putin has shown interest in considering it”.

“He spoke about our position. Not all provisions can be correlated with the main elements of our position, but this does not mean that we do not need to continue working,” Peskov said.

In another statement on Sunday, Ramaphosa said the proposal presented by African leaders on the mission to Ukraine and Russia has created a foundation for future engagements.

“The African Heads of States and Government asserted several key elements that are vital in starting a path to peace,” the statement reads.

“Some of the elements include the de-escalation of the conflict; release of the prisoners of war and children, adherence to the principle of the UN Charter on Sovereignty; ensuring that there is humanitarian support for those in need and post war reconstruction amongst others.”