How The African Peace Delegation Fared In Ukraine And In Russia
The Oasis Reporters
June 19, 2023
For reasons of paying back on the cheque of friendship that was given when it was needed decades ago, it did seem that South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa supported President Vladimir Putin in his war with Ukraine.
But deep down in his heart, he wanted the war to end quickly and it has been reported that he made his feelings known to the Russian president.
Foreign Policy reports that:
A delegation of African leaders had embarked on an ambitious mission to negotiate peace between Ukraine and Russia.
On Friday, officials representing Comoros, Egypt, the Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Zambia—and led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Senegalese President Macky Sall—met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. Their goal: to promote “confidence-building measures” to secure peace between the two warring countries, with an emphasis on combating the war’s detrimental impact on global food and fertilizer prices, which has hit Africa especially hard.
But the peace mission got off to a rocky start: The delegation’s arrival in the Ukrainian capital was met with a missile barrage from Russia that injured at least four people, including a child.
Reuters reported seeing the African heads of state fleeing to a nearby hotel to use its air-raid shelter, though a spokesperson for Ramaphosa later tweeted that they “didn’t hear the sirens or explosions” and that the peace mission was “proceeding as planned.”
The delegation, which vowed to focus on neutrality and diplomacy, was already the subject of controversy before even starting the trip. Western nations worry South Africa will unfairly favor Russia due to the country’s close ties to the Kremlin.
Last month, the U.S. ambassador to Pretoria accused South Africa of having supplied Moscow with weapons in December 2022. Ramaphosa denied the claim and appointed a judge to oversee an inquiry into the allegations.
And, indeed, it seems little progress was made during Friday’s meeting.
In a joint press conference with the delegation afterward, Zelensky made clear that his country’s position on peace talks hadn’t changed: “To allow any negotiations with Russia now while the occupier is on our land is to freeze the war, to freeze everything: pain and suffering,” Zelensky said, though he did invite the African leaders to attend an international peace summit that is being planned.
The African leaders then headed to St. Petersburg, Russia, to meet with President Vladimir Putin on Saturday last week.
Foreign Policy.
