×
This is the last article you can read this month
You can read more article this month
You can read more articles this month
Sorry your limit is up for this month
Reset on:
Please help support the Morning Star by subscribing here
SIX African leaders are set to hold talks with Kiev and Moscow next month to “initiate a peace process.”
Jean-Yves Ollivier, an international negotiator who has been helping to co-ordinate the initiative, said on Sunday that the African leaders would also discuss easing the passage of more grain shipments out of Ukraine and the possibility of more prisoner swaps.
As Mr Ollivier arrived in Moscow for preliminary talks with high-level officials to work out “logistics” for the talks, he said the peace mission would likely begin in June.
He is planning to travel on to Kiev for discussions with Ukrainian officials including the arrangements for the six African presidents to travel to Kiev by night train from Poland amid the fighting.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have both agreed to separately host the delegation of presidents from South Africa, Senegal, Egypt, Republic of Congo, Uganda and Zambia.
The talks also have the approval of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, the African Union and China, Ollivier said on Friday.
Neither side in the war appears ready to stop fighting, though.
Russia is believed to have taken the key eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut after fierce fighting, but this has been denied by the Ukrainians.
“We are not dreamers,” Mr Ollivier said on the chances that the African leaders will achieve an immediate breakthrough with regard to stopping the 15-month conflict.
He said: “Unless something happens, I don’t think we are going to finish our first mission with a ceasefire.”
Mr Ollivier is a Frenchman who played a role in bringing opposing sides together in high-stakes negotiations in the late 1980s that helped end apartheid in South Africa.
The African mission is not the only mediation effort. China offered its own peace plan in February and a Chinese envoy has been in discussions with Ukrainian and Russian officials.
You can’t buy a revolution, but you can help the only daily paper in Britain that’s fighting for one by joining the 501 club.
Just £5 a month gives you the opportunity to win one of 17 prizes, from £25 to the £501 jackpot.
By becoming a 501 Club member you are helping the Morning Star cover its printing, distribution and staff costs — help keep our paper thriving by joining!
Join here » Buy Shares
You can’t buy a revolution, but you can help the only daily paper in Britain that’s fighting for one by become a member of the People’s Printing Press Society.
The Morning Star is a readers’ co-operative, which means you can become an owner of the paper too by buying shares in the society.
Shares are £10 each — though unlike capitalist firms, each shareholder has an equal say. Money from shares contributes directly to keep our paper thriving.
Some union branches have taken out shares of over £500 and individuals over £100.
Buy here » Donate to the Fighting Fund
You can’t buy a revolution, but you can help the only daily paper in Britain that’s fighting for one by donating to the Fighting Fund.
The Morning Star is unique, as a lone socialist voice in a sea of corporate media. We offer a platform for those who would otherwise never be listened to, coverage of stories that would otherwise be buried.
The rich don’t like us, and they don’t advertise with us, so we rely on you, our readers and friends. With a regular donation to our monthly Fighting Fund, we can continue to thumb our noses at the fat cats and tell truth to power.
Donate today and make a regular contribution.
Donate here »
