An African delegation led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has arrived in St. Petersburg to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about starting peace negotiations. That reports a spokesman for Ramaphosa on Twitter.
The group, which includes politicians from South Africa, Congo-Brazzaville, Senegal, Zambia, Uganda, Egypt and Comoros, will visit Ukraine and Russia this week to discuss an African peace plan. In it, according to the Reuters news agency, politicians propose various measures to restore “mutual trust” between Ukraine and Russia. For example, they suggest that Russia withdraw its forces and that the West withdraw the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague against the Russian president. They also want to get an “unconditional grain and fertilizer deal” with their visit.
A spokesman for the South African president said their arrival in the “cultural capital of Russia” follows “constructive talks” with President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday. Today the delegation will try to “find a way to bring peace” to the 16-month-old conflict between Ukraine and Russia “which has devastated so many lives and is causing so much instability around the world.”
The visit coincides with the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, a Russian counterpart to the World Economic Forum in Davos. In a speech on Friday, the Russian president, accompanied on the podium by the Algerian president, mentioned that the Russian economy is doing very well despite Western sanctions.
Africa Editor Fleur de Waered
