By Brian Okoth
The delegation of African presidents to Ukraine and Russia has said it won’t be deterred by the heavy fighting, which occurred as they arrived in Kiev on Friday.
The peace mission to Kiev and St. Petersburg comprises President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt, Macky Sall of Senegal, Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville, Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia and Azali Assoumani of Comoros.
The heads of state, led by Ramaphosa, said they were surprised by missile attacks on Kiev, which defied the very essence of their mission to Ukraine and Russia.
Addressing journalists in Kiev after holding a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ramaphosa said the war scenes “won’t deter us”.
“The launching of the missiles today, in our view, does not deter us,” said the South African president. “It has not stopped us from continuing calling for de-escalation [of the war]. It is precisely this type of event that we experienced today that makes us call for de-escalation.”
Ramaphosa said the attacks were meted out by members “of both sides”.
“The fight must be de-escalated as both countries proceed on the road to peace, which is not an easy one,” he said.
Peace foundation
The African delegation to Kiev said the foundation of peace will be “laid and found, when the conflict becomes more intense”.
The leaders said their trip aims to listen to both sides in the ongoing conflict. “Tomorrow (Saturday), we are going to listen to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin on how he sees the road to peace,” said Ramaphosa.
The African presidents’ meeting with Putin will be held in the northwestern city of St. Petersburg in Russia.
The visiting leaders say they have “taken cognisance of a number of [peace restoration] proposals made by other parties around the world”.
“We do believe that this process of peace, in as much as it is complex, requires that all these points must be put on the table.”
UN Charter
Ramaphosa said they would clearly voice the importance of the United Nations Charter and the need for the rival nations to respect each other’s territorial sovereignty.
“All of us here respect the UN Charter, which is very important and key in uniting various countries of the world,” he said.
“In our discussion with President Putin, we will talk about the importance of the UN Charter. We are not the first group that is calling for a peaceful settlement [of the conflict]. We are also not the first group that has articulated the issue of respecting the sovereignty of countries,” said the South African leader.
The UN Charter spells out major principles of international relations, from sovereign equality of states to the prohibition of the use of force in international relations.
Zelenskyy's take
“Another key element that we spoke about [during our meeting with President Zelenskyy] is that both countries should have a sense of security in their own sovereignty.”
On his part, President Zelenskyy vowed to protect Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty, saying Russian “blackmail” should be called out.
“All the nations deserve to live freely without imposing an alien will politically or by military means. But no one can feel that their borders are protected and the safety of their people is guaranteed while Russia is trying to make aggression and theft of foreign lands a global norm,” he said.
He added: “It's obvious that the cessation of Russian terror and the withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine's entire territory is what can stop this war.”
Zelenskyy emphasised that he was committed to peace, provided “Russian blackmail and deception” is not allowed to control the peace talks.
“Today, we talked about the way to achieve a true and just peace without any Russian blackmail and deception with a delegation of heads of state and high-ranking officials of African states,” he said.
The Russia-Ukraine war entered its 479th day on Friday, as both parties continue their ‘no compromise’ approach.
