African presidents plan Moscow, Kyiv peace mission next month

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African presidents plan Moscow, Kyiv peace mission next month

7:59 CAT | 18 May 2023

File photo: Pavel Kazachkov/Wikimedia Commons

Six African heads of state seeking to broker a cease-fire in Russia’s war with Ukraine intend to meet the two nations’ presidents early next month, a South African official said.

Details of the trip are being finalized, with plans to visit Moscow and the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in early June, Department of International Relations and Cooperation Director-General Zane Dangor told lawmakers in a virtual meeting on Wednesday.

“The six heads of state will be shuffling between the two capitals to engage in the facilitating of peace talks to at least get toward a cease-fire,” Dangor said. “The initiative has been shared with the UN secretary-general, who has also expressed support, and we have also engaged with other actors including the US. There is general support for this initiative that President Ramaphosa announced.”

South Africa is scheduled to host a meeting of Brics foreign ministers at the start of June, as it prepares to host a summit of leaders of the five-nation economic bloc in August. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to attend the June gathering.

Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s foreign minister, will meet her Ukrainian counterpart in Portugal in the coming days to discuss the African initiative, Dangor said.

READ: Portugal: South Africa foreign minister in two-day visit

Source: Bloomberg