News24.com | African leaders to head to Russia, Ukraine in June to get ball rolling for peace talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Cyril Ramaphosa.

• Leaders of six African states will be in Russia and Ukraine as early as next month for peace talks.
• They will be in the countries to start talks of ending the conflict between the two nations.
• Heads of state from Zambia, Senegal, Congo, Uganda, Egypt, and South Africa are sponsoring the initiative.

President Cyril Ramaphosa and five other heads of African states will be in Russia and Ukraine as early as next month to start peace talks between the two warring nations.

This was confirmed by Zane Dangor, the director-general of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

On Wednesday, Dangor and several other senior officials briefed the Portfolio Committee on International Relations about the upcoming BRICS Heads of State Summit.

"In early June, the six heads of state will be shuttling between the two capitals [Moscow and Kyiv] to engage in the facility roll and at least get to a ceasefire.

"This initiative has been shared with the UN Secretary-General [António Guterres] who has expressed his support and we will also engage with other actors, including the US. We should watch the space, this initiative will continue," he said.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, had agreed to receive a peace mission led by six African heads of state in their respective capitals.

For his part, Ramaphosa is seeking to present himself - and South Africa - as a potential peacemaker in an African-led attempt to resolve the Russia/Ukraine conflict.

Heads of state from Zambia, Senegal, Congo, Uganda, Egypt, and South Africa are sponsoring the initiative.

Over the weekend, he spoke to both Putin and Zelensky after US Ambassador Reuben Brigety accused the South African government of taking a side in the conflict and, worse, arming the Russians.

Ramaphosa has insisted South Africa can play a mediating role in the conflict despite accusations it was not non-aligned and openly supported Russia.

The president's announcement came a day after the Russian Defence Force revealed South Africa's army chief, Lieutenant-General Lawrence Mbatha, was leading a military delegation to Moscow.

It claimed he had met with the Russian commander-in-chief of Russian ground forces, Colonel-General Oleg Salyukov.

According to Russia's Defence Ministry, Mbatha and Salyukov discussed "issues relating to military cooperation and interaction aimed at the implementation of projects aimed at improving the combat readiness of the armed forces of both countries".

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On the issue of the Russian cargo ship, Lady R, Dangor said the investigation would be led by a retired judge.

"We don't have any evidence South Africa's law has been impugned. Hopefully, there will be more clarity once the investigation is concluded," he added.

A diplomatic furore erupted on 11 May, when Brigety told reporters armaments were collected by the Lady R from the Simon's Town naval base in Cape Town in December.

The South African government denied the accusation and criticised Brigety for going public.

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