South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the African mission to broker peace in Ukraine was “historic”, after returning from talks in Kyiv and St Petersburg which have not yielded any immediate results.
The delegation, which Mr Ramaphosa said was “the first time African leaders have embarked on a peace mission beyond the shores of the continent”, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday and then flew to St Petersburg for talks with Vladimir Putin on Sunday.
In a weekly newsletter published on Monday, Mr Ramaphosa said that “one of the key achievements” of the mission “was the positive reception” it received from both sides, “which we found encouraging and which provides cause for optimism that the proposals will be given consideration.”
He added that both Mr Zelensky and Mr Putin have agreed to further engagements.
The mission put forward a ten point proposal, which includes de-escalation, the recognition of countries’ sovereignty, unimpeded grain exports through the Black Sea and sending prisoners of war and children back to their countries of origin.
The Kremlin said the proposal was “very difficult to implement”, and Mr Zelensky ruled out talks with Moscow while Russian troops occupied Ukrainian territories.
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