APA-Pretoria (South Africa) South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and his fellow African leaders are on Saturday expected in the Russian city of St Petersburg to continue with their second leg of a peace mission meant to kick start possible peace talks with neighbouring Ukraine.
Comprising Ramaphosa, Comoros President Azali Assoumani, Senegalese President Macky Sall and Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema, the African Peace Mission would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to broker peace between his country and Ukraine.
According to Ramaphosa, the African leaders would listen to both sides of the war before coming up with a solution to the conflict.
The African Peace Mission leaders were in Kyiv on Friday, where they held discussions with President Volodymyr Zelensky amid Russian bombs falling on the Ukrainian capital.
Ramaphosa said that the Russian missile strikes, which he witnessed during the visit to Kyiv, were “not working too well toward establishing peace.”
During a joint press conference with the host at the end of the talks, Ramaphosa said there was a need to de-escalate on both sides so that peace could return and the problem could be settled through negotiations.
The South African leader announced the peace initiative on 16 May which was put forward by a number of African nations with the sole purpose of ending the war in Ukraine.
NM/jn/APA