Putin, Zelenskyy agree to meet with ‘African leaders peace mission,’ says South Africa president

According to South Africa’s president on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have agreed to separate meetings with a delegation of leaders from six African nations to discuss a potential strategy to end the war in Ukraine.

Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, claimed that during a phone conversation he had over the weekend with both Zelenskyy and Putin, they both promised to organize “an African leaders peace mission” in Moscow and Kyiv, respectively.

Finding a peaceful end to the horrific situation in the Ukraine is at the forefront of our deliberations, according to Ramaphosa.

The delegation would also include Ramaphosa and the leaders of Zambia, Senegal, Congo, Uganda, and Egypt, he announced in a statement. He received permission from Putin and Zelenskyy to “commence the preparations,” according to the South African president.

South Africa, Congo, Senegal, and Uganda, four of those six African nations, abstained from a U.N. resolution last year denouncing Russia’s incursion. Egypt and Zambia cast votes in favor of the proposal.

Ramaphosa did not specify a timeline or any ground rules for potential peace negotiations. Zelenskyy has stated that until Russian forces have fully withdrawn from Ukrainian land, he will not entertain a peace agreement to end the 15-month conflict.

António Guterres, the U.N. Secretary-General, was also informed of the meetings the African delegation planned and “welcomed the initiative,” according to Ramaphosa.

The introduction of the African-led peace initiative coincided with Russia’s major airstrike on Kyiv.

Tuesday saw no quick response from Kiev or the Kremlin. In a readout of their Friday phone call, Putin was quoted as saying that he agreed with Ramaphosa that “a group of African leaders participating in the discussion of the prospects of resolving the Ukrainian conflict” was a good proposal.

When Ramaphosa claimed to have spoken with Putin over the weekend, it wasn’t immediately apparent if he meant that particular phone call.

The leadership role that South Africa holds within the African delegation is sure to grab attention. Days before to Ramaphosa’s announcement, the American ambassador had accused South Africa of supporting Russia in the conflict in Ukraine and even of supplying arms to Moscow.

Reuben Brigety, the U.S. ambassador to South Africa, claimed last week that weapons and ammunition were loaded at a South African naval facility in December onto a cargo ship flying a Russian flag before being transported to Russia. It has been disputed by the South African administration that it shipped any weaponry to Russia.

According to Ramaphosa, the situation is being looked upon.

South Africa has stated that it is impartial in the conflict. Due to the former Soviet Union’s support of South Africa’s current African National Congress party when it was a liberation movement battling to overthrow the racist apartheid state, the nation has deep historical links with Russia.

Also in February, on the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, South Africa welcomed Chinese and Russian warships for combined naval drills off its coast. On Monday, the top army general of South Africa came to Moscow to meet with the head of the Russian ground forces.

South Africa maintains that it still has a close relationship with the US and other Western countries who support Ukraine. Late last year, Ramaphosa had a meeting with Joe Biden at the White House.

Zambia and Russia have shared a rich past. Despite being a U.S. partner in East Africa for regional security, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has spoken of his nation’s relationship with Russia and its impartial stance in the conflict in Ukraine.

The neutrality of some of those African nations, according to Sipho Mantula, an expert at South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs, would benefit in any negotiations.

Mantula stated, “You don’t need people who will pick sides and act as proxies for mediators.

Regarding a settlement to stop the war, Russia and Ukraine are quite far apart.

The Crimean Peninsula and the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia were annexed by Russia, which the majority of countries have condemned as illegitimate, and the Kremlin wants Kyiv to recognize this. The requests have been rejected by Ukraine, and until Russian soldiers have withdrawn from all occupied territory, no discussions will take place with Russia.

Ukraine is committed to regaining all of the territory it lost to Russia.

A tribunal to try acts of aggression is another component of Zelenskyy’s ten-point peace plan, which would allow Russia to be held accountable for its invasion. On Saturday, Zelenskyy met in private with Pope Francis at the Vatican. He later claimed that he requested the pontiff’s support for Ukraine’s peace proposal.

China is the only foreign nation that has offered to mediate potential peace negotiations thus far, but that offer is tainted by its political support for Moscow.

In February, Beijing unveiled a draft peace plan, and a Chinese representative is getting ready to travel to Russia and Ukraine.

However, it seemed unlikely that the war would end soon because the Beijing proposal was generally rejected by Ukraine and its Western backers.

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From Kyiv, Ukraine, AP correspondent Hanna Arhirova contributed to this story. Associated Press writers Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda, Dasha Litvinova in Talinn, Estonia, and Mogomotsi Magome in Johannesburg also contributed.