Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that he had invited African leaders to take part in a global peace summit on the crisis in Ukraine.
In a press conference after talks with the African delegation visiting his country, Zelensky said that Ukraine needs real peace.
An African delegation began, earlier on Friday, mediation in an attempt to find a solution to the Ukrainian crisis.
The delegation of the joint African initiative includes the presidents of South Africa, Senegal, Comoros, Uganda and Zambia, the Egyptian Prime Minister on behalf of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and a representative of the Republic of the Congo. The delegation presented, during its talks with Zelensky, the elements of the joint African initiative to settle the crisis.
The African delegation will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Saturday.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced last month that he had “separate contacts” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine, during which he presented an initiative formulated by Zambia, Senegal, the Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Egypt and South Africa. However, Ramaphosa did not reveal the terms of the initiative.
A draft framework document, which Reuters said it had seen, said the peace mission might propose a series of “confidence-building measures” during initial efforts to mediate the crisis.
The framework document states that the mission’s goal is to “promote the importance of peace and encourage the parties to agree to a negotiation process led by diplomacy.”
The document also stated that these measures may include reducing penalties. The document stated that a cease-fire agreement might follow, to be accompanied by negotiations between Russia and the West.
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