It is a surprising announcement from Africa: According to information from South Africa, six African heads of state want to try to find a peace solution between Russia and Ukraine. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the heads of state wanted to travel to Russia and Ukraine “as soon as possible”.
In addition to South Africa, Zambia, Senegal, Congo Brazzaville, Uganda and Egypt are also involved in the initiative. The talks were brokered by the Brazzaville Foundation, a London-based non-profit focused on conflict resolution, agency AFP reported.
Ramaphosa said he spoke separately to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the weekend. Both had agreed to “receive the mission and the African heads of state” – in Moscow as well as in Kiev.
We hope that we will have intensive discussions.
Cyril RamaphosaSouth Africa’s President
According to media reports, Ramaphosa continued: “The top priority is to try to find a peaceful solution to the destructive conflict in Ukraine; it costs human lives and also has consequences for the African continent,” said the South African President.
“We have spoken about this as African leaders because we have concluded that while the conflict in this part of the world is not directly affecting Africa in terms of deaths and infrastructure destruction, it is impacting the lives of many Africans, and it is in terms of food security, increased fertilizer prices, increased grain prices and fuel prices.”
“We hope that we will have intensive discussions,” he said. UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the African Union (AU) have been informed of the initiative and have endorsed it.
Experts also welcomed the African advance, which, however, also met with criticism. Social media users, for example, wanted a similar initiative in Sudan, where the conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces claimed more than 800 lives, according to doctors.
South Africa has long had good relations with Russia and has endeavored to maintain a neutral position since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine began. In February, however, South Africa also held naval maneuvers with Russia and China. South Africa’s attitude to the Ukraine war is viewed with concern in the West.
A few days ago, the US ambassador in Pretoria accused South Africa’s government of having supplied weapons and ammunition to Russia. The ammunition is said to have been delivered by a Russian ship docked at a naval base in Cape Town last December. When asked by the opposition, Ramaphosa informed Parliament that it wanted to examine the matter, as the dpa agency reported.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called the reports “worrying”. She warned that anyone supplying weapons to Russia would prolong a war of aggression that violates international law.
Shortly after the reports of possible arms deliveries, the South African army chief Lawrence Mbatha traveled to Moscow for talks, according to Russian sources. According to the Interfax news agency, the Russian Defense Ministry said the negotiations were about bilateral cooperation. Questions of military cooperation were discussed at the headquarters of the Russian army “in order to implement projects aimed at increasing the operational capability of the armed forces of both countries,” it said. (lem)
