2023-06-17 19:37:02
During their visit to St. Petersburg, the African heads of state called on Russia to start peace talks.
Meeting of heads of state in St. Petersburg: Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, among others.Evgeny Biyatov/AP
After a visit to Ukraine, several African heads of state and government continued their mediation mission in Russia. The delegation, led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, arrived in St. Petersburg on Saturday, his office said. On Saturday there was a meeting with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin.
The representatives of several African countries called on Putin to negotiate with Ukraine. “We would like to encourage you to start negotiations with Ukraine,” African Union leader and Comoros President Azali Assoumani said on Saturday, according to the Interfax agency. South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa said: “We are convinced that the time has come for both sides to start negotiations and end this war.”
Also involved are Egypt, Senegal, Zambia, the Republic of the Congo, Uganda and the Comoros. However, hopes that the mediation mission will be successful following almost 16 months of war between Ukraine and Russia are extremely slim.
African mediators called for “de-escalation” in Kiev
The group called on both sides to “de-escalate” in Kiev on Friday. “This war must end and there should be peace through negotiations,” Ramaphosa said. Its statement on Saturday highlighted that the war would bring “devastating economic consequences, loss of life and global instability.”
However, the Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Selenkskyj rejects negotiations with Russia at this point in time. As long as Russian troops are on Ukrainian soil, negotiations “will only cement the war, the suffering and the pain,” he said on Friday. South Africa nevertheless spoke of “constructive talks” with Zelenskyj on Saturday.
Putin, on the other hand, made it clear on Friday, when he announced that the first nuclear warheads had been transferred to neighboring Belarus, that he, too, showed little willingness to de-escalate and negotiate. He also stressed that the Ukrainian counter-offensive had “no chance” of success.
Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu gave no signal for de-escalation on Saturday either – on the contrary: when visiting a military factory in the Omsk region in western Siberia, he called for the production of more tanks to cover the “needs of the Russian armed forces” in Ukraine.
Ramaphosa and other African heads of state arrived in Ukraine on Friday morning. Simultaneously with her visit, the Ukrainian capital was once more attacked by Russian missiles. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba spoke of a “message” from Russia to the African delegation. Russia wants “more war and no peace”.
In addition to Ramaphosa, the mission includes three other presidents of African countries: Macky Sall (Senegal), Hakainde Hichilema (Zambia) and Azali Assoumani (Comoros), who currently chairs the African Union. There are also representatives from Congo, Uganda and Egypt.
African countries also affected by the war – meeting with Putin
After arriving in St. Petersburg on Saturday, Ramaphosa was initially scheduled to speak to Putin alone, the South African presidency announced. After that, a meeting with the entire group with Putin was planned.
African countries are severely affected by the extreme increase in grain prices as a result of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and other effects on world trade. Both Ukraine and Russia are internationally important producers of wheat and other agricultural products.
In the Ukraine war, however, the African countries are taking different positions – some are on the side of Ukraine, some remain neutral, others turn to Moscow. South Africa has been repeatedly criticized in the West because the country has not yet condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine.
Ukraine has recently launched counter-offensives to retake areas controlled by Russian forces. According to Kiev, several towns and regarding 100 square kilometers of land, mainly on the southern front, have already been conquered. Moscow, for its part, insists that the counteroffensive has “failed”.
Russia on Saturday reported the destruction of three drones said to have been targeting an oil refinery in the Novozybkov district in the southern border region with Ukraine. The governor of the Briansk region, Alexander Bogomas, stated: “Three drones were destroyed.”
After the announcement of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, drone attacks from both sides have increased in recent weeks. On the Russian side, oil refineries, which are vital to supplying Russian forces with supplies, appear to be a prime target for Ukrainian attacks.
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