Putin, Zelenskyy Agree To Receive African Mission With Peace Plan - S. African President

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy both agreed to receive a mission of leaders of African nations with their peace initiative on the Ukrainian conflict, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th May, 2023) Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy both agreed to receive a mission of leaders of African nations with their peace initiative on the Ukrainian conflict, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday.

"I presented the initiative on behalf of these countries � Zambia, Senegal, Congo (Brazzaville), Uganda, Egypt and South Africa as well. The two leaders that I had an occasion to speak to, that is President Putin and President Zelenskyy, agreed that they would be willing to receive a mission of the African heads of state in both Moscow and Kiev," Ramaphosa said at a press conference with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The South African president added that facilitators of the African initiative had informed Western countries of the plan, which had received "cautious support" there.

"They (facilitators) have been to Washington to discuss the initiative, to London and to a number of capitals in Europe to discuss the indicative. And there has been cautious support to this type of the initiative," the South African leader said.

The peace mission would contribute to other efforts aimed to bring about a peaceful solution to the year-long conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Ramaphosa stated, adding that the success of the mission would depend on the discussions that would be held in both Moscow and Kiev.

Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Gutteres and the office of the African Union had also been briefed on the African peace initiative on Ukraine, the president said.