Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin will participate in ‘possibly game-changing’ discussions with African leaders.
According to the president of South Africa, the group would attempt to create a peace plan to stop the conflict in Ukraine.
According to Cyril Ramaphosa, he spoke with Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky over the phone over the weekend, and both men agreed to host ‘an African leaders peace mission’ in Moscow and Kyiv, respectively.
‘Principal to our discussions are efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the devastating conflict in the Ukraine,’ Mr Ramaphosa said.
The leaders of Zambia, Senegal, Congo, Uganda and Egypt would make up the delegation along with Mr Ramaphosa, he said in a statement, and Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky gave him the go-ahead to ‘commence the preparations’.
Four of the African countries – South Africa, Congo, Senegal and Uganda – abstained from a UN vote last year on condemning Russia’s invasion.
Zambia and Egypt voted in favour of the motion.
Mr Ramaphosa did not give a timeframe or outline any parameters for the possible peace talks. Mr Zelensky has previously said he would not consider a peace deal to end the 15-month war until Russian forces withdraw from Ukrainian territory.
The potential impact of African nations, if their persuasions are successful, could be a ‘game-changer’, experts have said.
Michael Butler, associate professor of political science at Clark University, described the potential impact of African states involvement in ending the war.
He said: ‘The offer to mediate the Russia-Ukraine war by a range of African states is potentially a game-changer – but more for what it signifies about Africa’s position on the world stage than from the standpoint of actually resolving the conflict.
‘These (and other) African states have successfully mediated numerous conflicts in Africa, but we have not seen a venture of this scale “out of area.” Individually and collectively, these states do satisfy a key requirement for effective mediation, in the form of impartiality.
‘However, it is less clear that any of them have the requisite “stake” in resolving the conflict necessary to signal their credibility and commitment to the Russian and Ukrainian leadership, which is crucial for securing “buy-in” from both parties.’
