Foreign countries|Russian invasion
of Africa the delegation visited St. Petersburg on Saturday, where they met the Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The purpose is to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table, so that the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine can be ended.
Africa has suffered badly from the rise in grain and fertilizer prices and the effects of the war on world trade.
The Russian media showed the president of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa landing from the plane at Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg late in the afternoon Finnish time.
Ramaphosa told Putin on Saturday evening Finnish time that the conflict in Ukraine must end.
“It must be settled through negotiations and diplomatic means,” Ramaphosa said.
The war has a negative impact on the African continent and many other countries in the world, Ramaphosa continued.
To the party the four presidents and three other representatives first consulted the president of Ukraine yesterday to Volodymyr Zelensky with in Kiev.
However, Zelenskyi said that Ukraine did not compromise on its previous conditions for starting negotiations. He also wondered why the delegation wants to meet Putin as well.
On Saturday, before the start of the official meeting, Putin praised the African delegation for a “balanced approach” to the issue and said he was ready for a “constructive dialogue” with the guests.
“We welcome the balanced approach of African friends to the Ukraine crisis,” Putin told the delegation.
“We are open to a constructive dialogue with all those who want to implement peace based on the principle of justice and respecting the legitimate interests of the parties,” he added.
In addition to South Africa’s Ramaphosa, the delegation includes Senegal Macky SallZambia Hakainde Hichilema and the Comoros Azali Assoumani.
Presidents from Uganda, Egypt and the Republic of Congo were also supposed to join the trip. However, they withdrew from the project and sent other representatives in their place.
Correction 6/17/2023 at 8:58 p.m.: The African delegation visited St. Petersburg, not Moscow, as was wrongly claimed in the story at first.
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