During a delegation visit to Russia aimed at promoting peace between Kyiv and Moscow, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt the fighting; the delegation sought to end the conflict and mitigate its adverse effects, particularly the impact on grain prices.
In Russia, as part of a delegation pushing for peace between Kyiv and Moscow, South Africa’s president told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday that the fighting had to stop.
His delegation put forward a set of principles that the Kremlin deemed “very difficult to implement” a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ruled out talks with Moscow.
The delegation brought the voice of a continent badly suffering from the Ukraine conflict’s repercussions, particularly with rising grain prices.
“This war must be settled… through negotiations and through diplomatic means,” South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa said after talks in the suburbs of Saint Petersburg.
Russian authorities have effectively banned the word “war” to describe their military operation in Ukraine.
Ramaphosa listed ten principles, which included de-escalation, the recognition of countries’ sovereignty, security guarantees for all countries, unimpeded grain exports through the Black Sea, and sending prisoners of war and children back to their countries of origin.
The mission included the presidents of South Africa, Senegal, Comoros, and Zambia and top officials from Uganda, Egypt, and Congo-Brazzaville.
“Difficult to implement”
Moscow has repeatedly said that negotiations must consider “new territorial realities.”
Zelensky, speaking on Friday after Ramaphosa called for de-escalation following their talks in Kyiv, repeated his position that Ukraine must recover territories lost to Russia to achieve peace.
Analysts informed that efforts to secure peace appear increasingly difficult, with Kyiv and Moscow convinced they can win on the battlefield.
Miroslava Salazar with AFP
