South African President Arrives in Ukraine for 'Peaceful' Negotiations
Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of the Republic of South Africa, arrived in Ukraine for a visit on Friday, 16th of June, as reported by his office on Twitter.
The South African president was welcomed at the Nemishaeve railway station by Ukraine's Special Representative for Africa and the Middle East, Maxim Subkh, and the South African ambassador to Ukraine, Andre Groeneveld, as reported by Suspilne.
Ramaphosa is visiting Ukraine as a member of a peace mission comprising representatives from several African countries. He is one of the leaders of this delegation. Prior to this visit, he had been to Poland, where he met with President Andrzej Duda. Tomorrow, Ramaphosa is set to depart Ukraine for the Russian Federation.
Earlier in May, media outlets reported that leaders of six African countries intend to hold 'peaceful' negotiations with Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
According to Reuters, their initial plan involved dialogue with Russia even without the withdrawal of occupation troops from Ukrainian territories. However, yesterday, June 15, the agency, citing a draft of the plan, reported that the African leaders wish to propose that Russia withdraw some troops from Ukraine in exchange for the suspension of an arrest warrant against Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and easing of sanctions.
The African leaders propose to foster 'confidence building' among potential peace negotiation participants, the withdrawal of Russian tactical nuclear weapons from Belarusian territory, the withdrawal of Russian troops from certain Ukrainian territories, and the easing of sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation due to its military invasion of Ukraine last year.
The delegation also proposes the introduction of 'unconditional' measures concerning the export of grain and fertilisers.
Their plan suggests that a ceasefire agreement may follow the initial steps of the peace initiative, which would be accompanied by negotiations between Russia and Western countries.
It is worth mentioning that last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited the Republic of South Africa on a work visit, after which the South African delegation arrived in Ukraine.
In May, the President of the Republic of South Africa stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed to accept the mission of African leaders to discuss a potential peace plan.
Earlier, Ukraine's Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa, Lyubov Abravitova, said that President Volodymyr Zelensky had 'made it very clear' that there would be no negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow until Russian troops leave the territory of Ukraine 'within its internationally recognised borders'.
We should recall that at the G20 summit in November 2022, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky presented his Peace Formula with Russia. The ten-point plan includes, among other things, the withdrawal of occupation troops from Ukraine and compensation for damages. Russia predictably rejected the proposal, but it was supported by the European Union countries and over ten non-EU countries.