Russian President Vladimir Putin opened talks with the African mission on Saturday, and asserted that the West, not Russia, caused the steep rise in global food prices. “It was caused by the fact that Western countries began to engage in economically unjustified emissions in order to solve their problems related to the coronavirus pandemic,” he explained.
Overview
Russia is ready to discuss any proposals from African states on the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, Putin said, as he welcomed officials from seven African countries who arrived to offer their peace initiative. The African delegation also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv to discuss the plan.
The African leaders were seeking consensus on a series of “confidence-building measures” even as Kyiv launched a counteroffensive last week to push Russian soldiers out of regions of southern and eastern Ukraine.
Today we are at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St. Petersburg to hold peace talks with President Putin of the Russian Federation as part of the Africa Peace Initiative.#AfricanPeaceMission pic.twitter.com/m8xKo7OOpj
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) June 17, 2023
Putin initiated Saturday’s discussions at a palace near St Petersburg, with representatives from Senegal, Egypt, Zambia, Uganda, Congo Republic, Comoros, and South Africa, emphasising Russia’s commitment to the continent.
The African delegation comprised South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Senegal’s Macky Sall, Comoros’ Othman Ghazali, and Zambia’s Hakainde Hichilema, as well as Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouly and senior officials from the Republic of Congo and Uganda.
At the beginning of the talks, Putin emphasised that Russia’s foreign policy prioritises the comprehensive development of relations with African nations. According to Putin, “We consistently advocate further strengthening of the traditionally friendly relations with African states and the main regional association — the African Union — based on principles of equality, mutual respect, and non-intervention in internal affairs.”
Africa’s Ten-point Peace Plan
During the three-hour meeting, the African delegation presented Putin with a 10-point peace roadmap, which included the following:
- De-escalation of the conflict on both sides;
- Diplomatic negotiations;
- Ensuring state sovereignty following the UN Charter;
- Exchange of captives and repatriation of children;
- Lifting of grain trade restrictions;
- Post-war reconstruction;
- Achieving guarantees of security for all countries;
- Ensuring seamless transportation of both countries’ grain and fertiliser exports;
- Humanitarian support to people affected by the war;
- Closer cooperation with African states
In response, Putin stated that Russia is open to constructive discussion and values the diplomatic approach African nations took to the situation in Ukraine.
South Africa President Ramaphosa yesterday proposed 10-point peace plan for Russia and Ukraine.
— Tymofiy Mylovanov (@Mylovanov) June 18, 2023
I listened to this plan today and surprisingly it has many pro-Ukrainian items.
Both 🇺🇦 and 🇷🇺 have also put forward conditions for negotiations. What are they? 1/ pic.twitter.com/h8ryrWl8E1
Russia’s Right to Acknowledge Donbas
The Russian President claimed that Russia supported the people of Donbas during Ukraine’s “bloody coup” and has been attempting to settle the problem peacefully for a long time. “It was the Kiev regime who started this war in 2014, and we were entitled to provide [the people of Donbas] with aid in accordance with UN Charter Article 51, citing the self-defence clause,” Putin remarked.
He emphasised that Russia has never refused dialogue with Ukraine, and that Ukraine withdrew from the talks of its own will, even though a preliminary peace deal was reached in Istanbul. He went on to say that no one could guarantee that Ukraine would not do the same with any new deals in the future.
War Affecting African Nations
Comoros’ President declared that the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has to stop as it has affected the whole African continent. The crisis has disrupted grain and other food supplies and aggravated price inflation, raising unprecedented challenges to Africa’s food and energy security, he continued, advising Putin to negotiate with Kyiv.
Putin claimed of the grain deal’s failure to deliver food to needy African countries, “These neo-colonial authorities — European, and, in essence, American ones — once again deceived the international community and African countries in need.”
The Russian leader asserted that “The crisis in the global food market is not at all a consequence of the special military operation in Ukraine; it started to emerge long before the situation in Ukraine. It emerged because Western states — both the US and European states — engaged in economically unjustified emission in order to solve its problems, connected to the coronavirus pandemic.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa informs President Putin that ending the war is in everyone's best interest.
— News Live SA (@newslivesa) June 17, 2023
“The prices of commodities have gone up particularly grain and fertilizer and the prices of fuel have also gone up in South Africa” @PresidencyZA pic.twitter.com/0Lyr8Rhc4n
Russian Officials Remarks
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who was also present at the meeting, stated that the African peace initiative remains on paper. Still, the African leaders understood the “true, deep reasons behind current events.” They recognised that the way out of this situation lies in developing specific actions to eliminate these reasons.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin and the African delegates are willing to meet again. However, not all of the terms of the peace effort correspond to Russia’s perspective.
Peskov stated that Putin was interested in the proposal, which South African President Cyril Ramaphosa outlined in his presentation, and that Russia will continue to engage with African countries.
In a bilateral meeting with Putin on Saturday, Ramaphosa stated that the meeting gave the African delegation a better understanding of the fundamental reasons for the Ukraine War and that the discussion will continue at the Russia-Africa Summit in July.