By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Leaders from several African countries arrived in Warsaw, Poland ahead of the separate talks with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The African leaders want to persuade Ukraine and Russia into talks that could end the war in Ukraine.
The delegation is headed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Senegal’s President Macky Sall, they’re joined by the leaders of Zambia, Congo Brazzaville, Egypt,Uganda, and the Comoros.
However Ugandian president Yoweri Museveni, 78, has delegated Ruhakana Rugunda, a former prime minister, to represent him as he recovers from the COVID-19 virus that he has been battling for a week now.
Upon arrival, the delegation is expected to make its way to Ukraine, where they will meet with Zelensky’s government and then proceed to Russia, where they will sit with Putin.
Both Zelensky and Putin have welcomed the African leaders’ mission to persuade Ukraine and Russia into talks that could see the war ending.
Ramaphosa’s office confirmed that he had arrived in Kyiv for talks with Zelenskyy to be held on Friday.
“The human and negative economic impact and tension arising from the conflict between Ukraine and Russia is a grave situation that affects all of us in an interconnected world,” he said.
“The African peace mission brings an African perspective and an appeal for peace process to deliberations that are underway in various parts of the world and within different formations of nations on how to address the conflict in Ukraine and Russia.”
Ramaphosa reiterated that conflicts of this nature have “such an overriding impact on the lives of people”. As such, the President said, leaders should negotiate and “lay out precisely what they see as an end game”.
Ramaphosa is expected to arrive in St Petersburg on Saturday to meet with Putin.
“We are pleased and encouraged by the openness with which the two presidents have undertaken to engage with African leaders on this matter. From our own experience, it is at times of escalated conflict that a search for peace must be equally accelerated.
“This peace initiative should be seen as complementing other peace initiatives that other parties have put forward. The strength of this mission is that African leaders will be engaging with both parties,” Ramaphosa added.
The list of possible measures includes the the pull-back of Russian troops, the removal of tactical nuclear weapons from Belarus, suspension of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant targeting Putin, and sanctions relief.
The document also includes an “unconditional grain and fertilizer deal.” African countries have been hard hit by the disruption of exports of both products from the region.