Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, met on Saturday with a delegation of African leaders who had come to Russia on what they called a “peace mission” the day before they had visited Ukraine.
The presidents of Comoros, Senegal, South Africa, and Zambia, as well as the prime minister of Egypt and the top diplomats from the Republic of Congo and Uganda, visited Ukraine on Friday to put an end to the conflict that has lasted almost 16 months.
After that, on Saturday, the African leaders went to St. Petersburg to meet with Putin, who was there for Russia’s premier international business summit.
The delegation’s suggestions needed to be more specific.
After the three-hour discussion, foreign minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the Africans’ peace proposal had ten components but “was not formulated on paper.”
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, “the peace initiative proposed by African countries is challenging to implement, difficult to compare positions.” Although “President Putin has shown interest in considering it.”
“He discussed our position. Not all clauses are compatible with the fundamental tenets of our viewpoint, but this does not negate the need for us to keep working, according to Peskov.
“The main conclusion, in my opinion, from today’s conversation is that our partners from the African Union have shown an understanding of the true causes of the crisis that was created by the West, and have shown an understanding that it is necessary to get out of this situation based on addressing these underlying causes,” said Lavrov.
Russia claims that it was effectively compelled to send soldiers into Ukraine due to the country’s support from the U.S. and Western Europe and Ukraine’s desire to join NATO.
Speaking at the economic summit on Friday, Putin announced that Belarus had received the first Russian tactical nuclear weapons. He described the action as deterrence against Western attempts to undermine Russia in Ukraine. The deployment would start in July, according to his earlier statement.
When asked if he could direct nuclear weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine, Putin responded that it wasn’t necessary but added that Moscow could use its nuclear weapons in the event of a “threat to the Russian statehood.”
“In such a situation, we will undoubtedly employ all the resources available to the Russian state. There ought to be no question about it, he said.
First, of its type, the South Africa leaders’ trip to Ukraine follows other peace attempts, including one by China. It is particularly significant for Africa, which depends on food and fertilizer shipments from Russia and Ukraine. One of the most significant breadbaskets in the world has seen its exports hampered by the war.
Following their private talks on Friday, South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and four other South Africa leaders stated at a news conference that “this conflict is negatively affecting South Africa.”
Ramaphosa and others acknowledged the severity of the fighting, but they argued that all wars must stop and made clear how eager they were to hasten that process.
“Ukrainians have a strong sense of duty to struggle and persevere. “There is a need to bring this conflict to an end sooner rather than later,” he added, adding that “the road to peace is tough.”
Presidents Macky Sall of Senegal and Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia are part of the group, which represents a spectrum of African perspectives on the conflict.
While Egypt, Zambia, and Comoros voted against Russia in a U.N. General Assembly resolution denouncing Moscow’s invasion last year, South Africa, Senegal, and Uganda have refrained from condemning Moscow over the crisis.
Since the Cold War, when the Soviet Union supported their anti-colonial campaigns, many African countries have maintained close connections with Moscow.
Azali Assoumani, the president of Comoros, mentioned a “road map” to peace during his remarks at the news conference on Friday. This prompted questions from Zelenskyy, who demanded an explanation and stated he didn’t want “any surprises” from their meeting with Putin.
As Ukraine and Russia adopt radically different positions, the likelihood of peace negotiations becomes slim. Ukraine insists that Russia evacuate its troops from the occupied territory as a prerequisite for peace talks. The Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally acquired from Ukraine in 2014, and additional territorial acquisitions are what the Kremlin wants Ukraine to recognize as a part of Russia.
China made a peace offering towards the end of February. Ukraine and its allies largely rejected the plan as the warring parties appeared no closer to an armistice.
The South Africa peace mission occurs as Ukraine begins a counteroffensive to drive the Kremlin’s forces out of the occupied territory, employing advanced weapons supplied by the West in attacks along several stretches of the front line extending over 1,000 kilometres (600 miles).
Soldiers stated they had orders to keep moving forward and not retreat in the village of Blahodatne, which Ukrainian forces captured in the counteroffensive six days ago. This indicates that there will be arduous fighting ahead in the direction where Russians have erected extensive lines of fortifications.
“Morale is firm because the guys know they’re moving forward to liberate their lands,” a Ukrainian soldier with the callsign Skripal (Violinist) remarked. We’re attempting to follow orders to advance rather than withdraw.
Craters in the village roadways collapsed structures, and gunshot holes in almost every house. A Ukrainian commander with the call sign “Lermontov” told media inside a cultural centre that they had caught several Russian soldiers during the conquest of the settlement and displayed four bodies of what he claimed were Russian combatants who had been inmates recruited to fight.
