South African president asks Putin to end the war

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putinreceived today the delegation of seven African leaders to address their peace initiative in Ukraine in the midst of the counteroffensive launched by the kyiv forces, which asked to support it with weapons long range.

“Dear friends, it was not us, but the leadership of Ukraine that announced that they will not carry out any negotiations (…) We are certainly ready to study all your proposals”Putin said during the meeting, which was held at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg.

Africa wants peace

The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, For his part, he considered that the time had come to “end the war” in Ukraine.

“The time has come for both parties to start negotiations and end the war”Ramaphosa told Putin during the meeting, which was also attended by the leaders of Senegal, Egypt, Uganda, Zambia, Congo and Comoros.

He added that “This war causes instability and damage to various countries around the world.”

“And we, the African countries, feel firsthand the consequences of that war,” assured.

Ramaphosa, who heads the African delegation that arrived in Moscow after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky in Kiev, presented a 10-point peace plan to Putin and described as “historical” the mission of African leaders to contribute to the solution of the Ukrainian conflict.

The African plan provides for the peaceful solution of the conflict, peace negotiations, de-escalation by both parties, recognition of the sovereignty of the countries according to the letter and the principles of the UN, security guarantees for all, as well as the lifting of obstacles to the movement of cereals and fertilizers from both countries and humanitarian support for the victims of the conflict, including children, who “they have become hostages” and “must come back” their houses.

In addition, among the points of the peace initiative of the African countries is the exchange of prisoners and the “postwar reconstruction” from Ukraine.

A difficult plan to implement

The plan presented by African leaders is very difficult to implement, but Putin will study it, Russian Presidency spokesman Dmitri Peskov said shortly after the meeting ended.

“The peace initiative proposed by the African countries is very difficult to implement, it is difficult to reconcile positionsPeskov assured.

At the same time, he assured that “President Putin has shown interest in studying it.”

“He told them about our position. Not all the points (of the African plan) can be reconciled with the main elements of our position, but this does not mean that we should not continue working”, added.

The counteroffensive continues

But while diplomacy fails to achieve tangible results, Russian and Ukrainian forces continue fighting on different sectors of the front in Ukraine.

According to kyiv, Ukraine is taking the lead in its current counter-offensive and Russia is defending itself.

But to win, kyiv needs long-range, high-precision weapons with a range of up to 200 kilometers, according to Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Volodimir Gavrilov.

According to Gavrilov, “Ukraine is taking the initiative, Russia is on the defensive, but to get stronger, (Ukraine) needs weapons with a range of up to 200 kilometers.”

Source: EFE