Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with numerous African leaders in Kyiv on Friday to discuss methods to stop his country’s war.
Comoros President Azali Assoumani led the delegation, which also included South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, and Senegalese President Macky Sall.
Egypt, the Republic of the Congo, and Uganda all sent delegations.
The African leaders paid their condolences at a cemetery in Bucha where 458 civilians were purportedly slain by Russian forces.
They also went to Mykhailivska Square to see an open-air exhibition of Russian military equipment that was damaged during the conflict. They later met Zelenskyy.
At a joint news conference, Zelenskyy stated that Russia needs to pause the conflict in order to hold talks while it is still on Ukrainian land.
“It is clear that Russia is now attempting to revert to its old primitive deception tactics.” But deceiving the rest of the world in Russia is no longer an option. It is just not possible to deceive Ukraine. “I emphasise once more: We need genuine peace, and thus a genuine withdrawal of Russian troops from our entire independent territory,” he stated.
Ramaphosa stated that the war should be addressed diplomatically.
“Today, during our visit, we heard missile strikes,” Ramaphosa said, emphasising the need to calm tensions. Such activity does not promote peace. As a result, we are discussing the necessity for de-escalation on both sides so that peace may find its way through and resolve the issue,” he said.
Ukraine and Russia should supply food and fertiliser exports, he added, before adding that one of the reasons for coming to Ukraine is that the bad effects of the war have also touched Africa.
“Our grain prices have increased; we also have a shortage of fertilisers, and their prices have increased,” he explained.
