Putin meets with African leaders in Russia to discuss Ukraine peace plan, but no visible progress

Over the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with representatives from several African nations. The delegation, consisting of the presidents of Comoros, Senegal, South Africa, and Zambia, as well as Egypt’s Prime Minister and senior delegates from Uganda and the Republic of Congo, arrived in Russia following a visit to Ukraine. They had embarked on a mission of peace, however, the discussions with Putin, unfortunately, resulted in no apparent headway.

This group of African leaders had visited Ukraine in a bid to help terminate the war that has now continued for over 16 months. They subsequently journeyed to St. Petersburg to interact with Putin at Russia’s renowned international economic forum. Yet, the specifics of the delegation’s peace propositions remained sketchy.

Post the three-hour meeting, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov revealed that the African peace plan, though comprised of 10 parts, was not documented. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov admitted the difficulty of executing the peace plan proposed by the African countries and of harmonizing positions. However, he noted that Putin demonstrated interest in considering the plan.

Russia’s justification for its military presence in Ukraine rests on its perceived threat from Ukraine’s NATO aspirations and the nation’s backing from Western Europe and the United States. During the economic forum, Putin announced the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus as a preventive measure against Western attempts to overthrow Russia in Ukraine. He emphasized that such weapons would only be deployed if Russian statehood were threatened.

The African leaders’ mission to Ukraine, unprecedented in nature, followed other peace efforts, such as China’s initiative. This mission is particularly significant for Africa, a continent that relies on Russia and Ukraine for food and fertilizer supplies. The war has disrupted exports from these vital breadbaskets.

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, in a press conference, recognized the negative impact of the conflict on Africa. Together with his African counterparts and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ramaphosa underscored the necessity to terminate wars and pledged their readiness to facilitate this process.

The African delegation presented diverse views on the war, with some nations refraining from criticizing Moscow over the conflict, and others opposing Russia’s invasion through a U.N. General Assembly resolution. The historical association between many African nations and Moscow traces back to the Cold War era when the Soviet Union backed their anti-colonial fights.

As of now, the prospect for peace talks appears bleak with Ukraine and Russia maintaining starkly different stances. The Ukrainian administration insists on the withdrawal of Russian troops from its occupied territories as a prerequisite for peace negotiations. In contrast, the Kremlin demands that Ukraine accept Crimea as part of Russia and recognize the other territories Russia has annexed.

Despite these challenging circumstances, Ukraine is pushing forward with a counteroffensive to reclaim the areas seized by Kremlin’s forces. Reports from Blahodatne, a village retaken by Ukrainian forces recently, indicate high morale and a determination to advance, forecasting tough battles ahead.

This news piece is supplemented by contributions from Sam McNeil in Blahodatne, Ukraine, and Jim Heintz in Tallinn, Estonia. For more coverage on the war in Ukraine, please visit: https://bigbignews.net/russia-ukraine.

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