Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and other African leaders met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Saturday to discuss the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.
The leaders followed up on the latest developments of the African initiative to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, said Egyptian Presidential Spokesperson Ahmed Fahmy in a statement.
They stressed that Africa has a fundamental interest in working to end the conflict, given its enormous negative impacts on a number of vital sectors, such as food security, energy and international finance.
They also agreed to continue intensive work to advance the African initiative by developing the necessary mechanisms to encourage the Russian and Ukrainian sides to engage positively in it in the coming period.
For his part, Putin said Russia has never refused to negotiate with Ukraine and is always ready to seek peaceful ways to settle the situation there.
He criticized Western policies, saying that they “don’t care about the UN charter; they remember international law only when they think that these tools can be used against any party, in this case against Russia.”
“If they demand that the UN Charter and international law be upheld, they should abide by those norms themselves,” he said.
He recalled that Ukrainian authorities had “issued special legislation prohibiting negotiations with Russia.”
“We, for our part, did not reject negotiations, and we have always said that we are ready to continue the dialogue,” Putin concluded.
A delegation representing seven African countries, including the presidents of Zambia, Comoros, Senegal and South Africa, and the prime minister of Egypt, as well as representatives of the Republic of the Congo and Uganda, visited Kyiv on June 16 and held talks with Volodymyr Zelensky with the aim of reaching a settlement to the Ukrainian crisis.
The next day, on June 17, President Putin received the delegation in St. Petersburg.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, on behalf of the delegation, presented a 10-item plan that could lay the groundwork for the peace process in Ukraine.
The African Plan for Peace contains 10 main items, namely:
• Achieving peace through negotiations through diplomatic means; Launching peace negotiations as soon as possible; De-escalating the conflict on both sides
• Guaranteeing the sovereignty of states and peoples in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations
• Providing security guarantees to all countries
• Ensuring the export of grain and fertilizer from both countries
• Providing humanitarian support to those who fell victim to the war
• Settling the issue of prisoner-of-war exchange
• Calling for all children caught in the crossfire of this conflict to be allowed to return to where they came from
• Post-war reconstruction, assistance to war victims and closer interaction with African nations
The leaders of the African delegation said they were encouraged by the meeting with Putin and that they believe the African Plan for Peace has the potential to end the conflict in Ukraine.
They called on both sides to engage positively in the mediation process and to work together to find a peaceful solution.
The meeting in St. Petersburg was the latest in a series of efforts by African leaders to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.
In February, a delegation of African leaders met with Putin in Moscow to discuss the crisis.
In March, a delegation of African leaders met with Zelensky in Kyiv to discuss the crisis.
The African leaders have said that they believe they can play a constructive role in mediating between Russia and Ukraine.
They have said that they are committed to finding a peaceful solution to the crisis that will benefit all parties involved.
The meeting in St. Petersburg was a positive step in the efforts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.
The leaders of the African delegation said they were encouraged by the meeting with Putin and that they believe the African Plan for Peace has the potential to end the conflict.
They called on both sides to engage positively in the mediation process and to work together to find a peaceful solution.