Kiev has largely rejected the African peace plan proposed to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, while Russian officials have also indicated difficulty in accepting it. Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying that the plan is “difficult to achieve.”
Peskov further stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown interest in the plan presented by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, which consists of ten points, and Russia will continue dialogue with African countries on the matter. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that African leaders did not convey any message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Putin.
During discussions on Saturday, President Putin presented a list of reasons to the visiting African leaders, who came to mediate a resolution to the Ukrainian conflict, stating his belief that most of their proposals were not based on sound foundations. He emphasized Russia’s commitment to the African continent in conversations with representatives from Senegal, Egypt, Zambia, Uganda, the Republic of the Congo, Comoros, and South Africa at the Constantine Palace.
However, after presentations made by leaders from Comoros, Senegal, and South Africa, criticisms were raised to challenge the assumptions of their plan before other leaders and representatives of the countries continued their discussions.
Putin reiterated that the conflict was initiated by Kiev and the West long before Russia sent its armed forces across the border into Ukraine in February of last year.