The peace mission of leaders from a number of African countries will visit Moscow and Kiev to seek ways to resolve the conflict in Ukraine as part of the "Road to Peace" initiative by the end of June, the Brazzaville Foundation, a non-profit organization, reported.
"The preparatory work for Africa's "Road to Peace" peace mission to resolve the conflict in Ukraine has been completed as it was held from May 22 to June 5," the organization said in a communiqué released Wednesday in South Africa. - "The leaders trip to Russia and Ukraine will take place until the end of June 2023. During the June 5 virtual conference between [several African] heads of state and the Brazzaville Foundation, it was agreed that the coordination of the African leaders visit [to Moscow and Kiev], including logistical and diplomatic aspects, will be managed by the respective countries' diplomatic channels."
The Brazzaville Foundation was founded in the summer of 2014 by French businessman Jean-Yves Olivier, who is its current president. The organization is headquartered in London.
Intense preparation
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said June 6 that the upcoming African peace mission to Moscow and Kiev aims to determine the framework for a peaceful end to the crisis in Ukraine. According to him, the mission has two tasks: to hear out the Russian and Ukrainian sides on their vision of what conditions are necessary to end the conflict and then to present their own vision of a peaceful end, based on what they hear in Moscow and Kiev. At the same time, the African delegation intends to address in detail the problem of how the Ukrainian crisis is negatively affecting Africa, where food and energy problems have been exacerbated.
In turn, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa Naledi Pandor said on May 30 that the foreign ministers of several African countries will depart next week for Kiev, where they will wait for the presidents of seven African states to arrive with a peace mission. According to her, the purpose of the trip of the foreign ministers is to clarify on the spot all the issues related to the schedule of the meeting and ensuring security conditions. Pandor said that the presidents will arrive in Kiev by train from Poland. She added that the program of stay of the African peace mission in Kiev has already been agreed, and similar negotiations with the Russian side are in the final stage.
On June 5, the presidents of Egypt, Zambia, Comoros, Senegal, Uganda and South Africa held video consultations on the African peace initiative to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. The leaders agreed that they would discuss with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky the details of a ceasefire and lasting peace in the region. They also instructed the foreign ministers of their countries to finalize elements of the road map for promoting peace in Ukraine. The presidents confirmed their readiness to visit Moscow and Kyiv.
On May 16, Ramaphosa announced that Russian and Ukrainian authorities had agreed to host an African delegation to seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Ramaphosa was speaking on behalf of a group of six African countries: Egypt, the Republic of Congo, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia. Now the incumbent chair of the African Union, the Comoros, has been added to this list.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials from TASS