(Moscow) The African mediation delegation advocated Saturday in Moscow the end of “the war” in front of Vladimir Putin, who declared himself “open” to a “constructive dialogue”, a new diplomatic initiative to which Volodymyr Zelensky opposed him a end of inadmissibility, seeing it as a “deception” by Russia.
“War cannot last forever […]. We want this war to end”, launched the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, at the head of the delegation of African mediators, at the start of the meeting with Mr. Putin in Saint Petersburg (north-west of Russia). ).
“It is in our common interest that this war ends,” he insisted, stressing that African countries are “negatively affected” by the Ukrainian conflict.
Ongoing since February 2022, the Russian offensive in Ukraine is officially designated in Russia as a “special military operation”, with many Russians having been sentenced to prison terms for calling this conflict a “war”.
The delegation includes, in addition to Mr. Ramaphosa, three other presidents: Macky Sall (Senegal), Hakainde Hichilema (Zambia) and Azali Assoumani (Comoros), current president of the African Union, as well as Congolese, Ugandan and Egyptian representatives.
It arrived in Russia the day after a trip to Kyiv where its members had, according to the African presidency, “constructive discussions” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who, however, rejected their proposals.
“Balanced approach”
President Putin hailed a “balanced approach” by African countries towards the Ukrainian crisis, emphasizing that “in Russia, we greatly respect the position of African states in favor of maintaining stability” and “we support their aspiration to a pacifist policy”.
PHOTO VALENTYN OGIRENKO, REUTERS
From left to right: The African delegation includes ex-President of Uganda Ruhakana Rugunda, President of Zambia Hakainde Hichilema, President of Senegal Macky Sall and President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa.
“We are open to constructive dialogue with those who want peace based on the principles of justice and taking into account the legitimate interests of the parties,” Putin said.
For his part, the President of the Comoros, Azali Assoumani, indicated that the African delegation was there “to hear the voice of the Russian people”, after having listened to that of Ukraine the day before, and to “convince the two countries to take the path of dialogue”.
Africa is hard hit by rising food prices and the effects of war on world trade. South Africa, however, refuses to condemn Russia for its aggression, and is criticized for its closeness to the Kremlin.
Russia, for its part, is trying to attract African leaders to its camp by claiming to stand up as a bulwark against imperialism and by accusing the West of blocking with its sanctions the exports of Russian cereals and fertilizers essential to the Africa.
In Kyiv, the day before, Volodymyr Zelensky denounced “a deception” by Moscow in the midst of a counter-offensive by its armed forces.
“Allowing negotiation with Russia now, when the occupier is on our land, means freezing the war, freezing the pain and suffering,” Mr. Zelensky said.
Even before the arrival on his land of African leaders, Vladimir Putin said he was convinced on Friday that the Kyiv counter-offensive had “no chance” of succeeding, and that Western countries would be forced to return. to him, on his terms. “And we’ll see when and what we can talk to them about,” he said.
Kyiv, for its part, claims to have liberated a handful of localities and a hundred square kilometers, mainly on the southern front.
Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu called on Saturday for more tanks to be produced to “meet the needs of the forces” in the operation in Ukraine.
PHOTO ANATOLII STEPANOV, FRANCE-PRESSE AGENCY
A charred Russian armored vehicle stands next to a damaged house in the recently liberated village of Blahodatne in the Donetsk region on June 16.
No preferential treatment
In Washington, US President Joe Biden assured him that Ukraine would not receive preferential treatment for its NATO membership process.
Asked by journalists whether he intended to make Kyiv’s membership of the Atlantic Alliance “easier”, Mr. Biden said “no”, assuring that Ukraine should “respect all the criteria. So we are not going to make it easy”.
The remarks come ahead of NATO’s next annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, to be held on July 11-12.
Ukraine will not be invited to join the Alliance at this summit, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg already specified on Friday, even though he stressed that Ukraine would become “a member of NATO at some time”. The invitation is the first step in the membership process.