The leaders of South Africa, Zambia, the Comoros, the Congo Brazzaville, Egypt, Senegal and Uganda have led African Peace Mission aimed at a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia which started over a year ago.
According to the statement released by the South African Presidency on Thursday, while the President, Cyril Ramaphosa travelled to Poland, en route to Ukraine and the Russian Federation as part of the resolution to the peace mission participation.
The South African President, Ramaphosa has over the past two days participated in the International Labour Organisation’s World of Work Summit in Geneva, Switzerland.
It was stated that S’African President visited the Polish capital, Warsaw, to pay a courtesy call on President Andrzej Duda, who leads a country that shares borders with Ukraine and Russia and is deeply affected by the regional conflict.
As representative of African continent that has felt the adverse economic impact of the conflict, Ramaphosa proceeded to Ukrainian capital Kyiv for deliberations as a member of African Peace Mission – with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Also, the South African President who in recent weeks has been in conversation with President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, President Zelenskyy, President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China.
Leaders of BRICS countries and the Secretary-General of United Nations regarding efforts to facilitate a peaceful process to the Ukraine- Russia conflict, in line with South Africa’s standing as a non-aligned state.
Today, Friday 16 June, President Ramaphosa will leave Kyiv en route to St Petersburg, Russia, where the African delegation will engage with President Putin on Saturday, 17 June.
On the eve of the Mission, President Ramaphosa said: “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”.
“The African Peace Mission brings an African perspective and an appeal for a 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”.
“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”, he said.
As many as thousands Russian and Ukrainian civilians, soldiers have been killed or injured in unjustifiable war which has started over a year ago, grinding towards a protracted conflict that may last well beyond 2023 as reported.