African leaders offer peace initiative for Russia and Ukraine

Africa, News May 17, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said that a delegation of African leaders would soon travel to Russia and Ukraine to initiate the peace process between the two warring nations. Ramaphosa’s announcement came on May 16, 2023.

Details of the African leaders’ peace plan have not been made public yet. Ramaphosa indicated that at least six African leaders are on board with him on the idea to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

The South African president said that the delegation of African leaders would travel to Moscow and Kyiv “as soon as possible”. His announcement came during a media briefing with visiting Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

He said that African nations have been affected directly by the ongoing war due to the increasing prices of oils and fertilizers. He added that Africa wants a peaceful solution between Russia and Ukraine.

“We have been talking about as African leaders because we concluded that conflict in that part of the world, much as it does not affect Africa directly in the form of deaths and destruction to infrastructure, it does have an impact on the lives of many Africans with regard to food security, the prices of fertilizers have gone up, the prices of cereals have gone up and the prices of fuel,” he said.

Ramaphosa said that he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the phone this week and both leaders have agreed to receive the missions in their countries. According to the Kremlin, Putin supported Ramaphosa’s proposal to involve African leaders in talks regarding a peace process for Ukraine.

The prospective peace plan from African nations has been agreed upon by the leaders of Senegal, Uganda, Egypt, The Republic of Congo, and Zambia. Ramaphosa said that the United States and Britain have also expressed “cautious” support for the plan while United Nations Secretary-General was also briefed about the initiative.

*^{Russian President Vladimir Putin and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. (Image Credit: Office of the President of Russia)}*

South African leadership claims to be a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict and has offered to mediate between the two sides to find a peaceful solution, however, Western powers have been keeping a close eye on the African nation due to its good relations with Russia and China. South Africa hosted joint naval drills with Russia and China in February this year. Russian navy participated in the naval drills with its Admiral Gorshkov warship which was armed with new-generation hypersonic cruise weapons.

The U.S. has also accused South Africa of supplying weapons to Russia. A claim that South African officials rejected. The United States ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety had claimed that a Russian ship collected weapons from a naval base in Cape Town late last year. However, after facing a severe backlash from the South African minister for foreign affairs, the U.S. ambassador apologized to the government and the people of South Africa for his comments.