News24.com | African leaders to head to Russia, Ukraine in June to get ball rolling for peace talks

5h ago

Share African leaders to head to Russia, Ukraine in June to get ball rolling for peace talks Jason Felix 0:00 play article Subscribers can listen to this article Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Cyril Ramaphosa. GCIS

Leaders of six African states will be in Russia and Ukraine as early as next month for peace talks.
They will be in the countries to start talks of ending the conflict between the two nations.
Heads of state from Zambia, Senegal, Congo, Uganda, Egypt, and South Africa are sponsoring the initiative.

President Cyril Ramaphosa and five other heads of African states will be in Russia and Ukraine as early as next month to start peace talks between the two warring nations.

This was confirmed by Zane Dangor, the director-general of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

On Wednesday, Dangor and several other senior officials briefed the Portfolio Committee on International Relations about the upcoming BRICS Heads of State Summit.

"In early June, the six heads of state will be shuttling between the two capitals [Moscow and Kyiv] to engage in the facility roll and at least get to a ceasefire.

"This initiative has been shared with the UN Secretary-General [António Guterres] who has expressed his support and we will also engage with other actors, including the US. We should watch the space, this initiative will continue," he said.

READ | Godongwana: US won’t sanction SA over weapons row, and market reaction will stabilise

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, had agreed to receive a peace mission led by six African heads of state in their respective capitals.

For his part, Ramaphosa is seeking to present himself – and South Africa – as a potential peacemaker in an African-led attempt to resolve the Russia/Ukraine conflict.

Heads of state from Zambia, Senegal, Congo, Uganda, Egypt, and South Africa are sponsoring the initiative.

Over the weekend, he spoke to both Putin and Zelensky after US Ambassador Reuben Brigety accused the South African government of taking a side in the conflict and, worse, arming the Russians.

Ramaphosa has insisted South Africa can play a mediating role in the conflict despite accusations it was not non-aligned and openly supported Russia.

The president's announcement came a day after the Russian Defence Force revealed South Africa's army chief, Lieutenant-General Lawrence Mbatha, was leading a military delegation to Moscow.

It claimed he had met with the Russian commander-in-chief of Russian ground forces, Colonel-General Oleg Salyukov.

According to Russia's Defence Ministry, Mbatha and Salyukov discussed "issues relating to military cooperation and interaction aimed at the implementation of projects aimed at improving the combat readiness of the armed forces of both countries".

READ | Kremlin says SA army chief in Moscow for 'combat readiness' talks, as SANDF claims 'goodwill visit'

On the issue of the Russian cargo ship, Lady R, Dangor said the investigation would be led by a retired judge.

"We don't have any evidence South Africa's law has been impugned. Hopefully, there will be more clarity once the investigation is concluded," he added.

A diplomatic furore erupted on 11 May, when Brigety told reporters armaments were collected by the Lady R from the Simon's Town naval base in Cape Town in December.

The South African government denied the accusation and criticised Brigety for going public.

Should all countries sanction Russia for the war in Ukraine? Sign up for our global dialogue programme and get matched for a conversation

Next on News24 Mkhwebane's inquiry postponed again due to legal representation impasse

5h ago

description username Most Read For Subscribers

Game On!

Can you ace them all?

Today’s crossword, wordflower, sudoku and weekly news quiz

Play Now Newsletters

Sommelier – Bi-weekly

A new bi-weekly newsletter by wine editor Daléne Fourie. The newsletter will serve as a guide for those who make wine, those who want to learn more about wine, and those who simply just love wine.

Get the newsletter Get the latest numbers. Full list of lottery results Should SA government take a hard line on the consumption of Prime Hydration in schools? Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later. No, let’s avoid becoming a nanny state 51% – 811 votes Yes, the pupils are getting out of hand 49% – 794 votes Vote LISTEN | Tighten your budgets: Eskom's power stations could cost you more

9h ago

LISTEN | Literacy rates at all-time low, Eskom's power stations could cost you more

16h ago

PODCAST | Consexual with Dr Eve: He wants sex, you don’t. Here’s why and how to cope

11h ago

LISTEN | And the Oscar for worst performance goes to… Mabuyane: Inside the premier's sham degree

15 May

LISTEN | #LadyRussiaGate: That Russian ship, a diplomatic furore and what it all means for SA

15 May

Podcast series: click here to find them all

25 Jun 2021

Currencies Commodities Jse Indexes Rand – Dollar 19.25 -0.9% Rand – Pound 24.05 -0.9% Rand – Euro 20.87 -0.6% Rand – Aus dollar 12.84 -1.0% Rand – Yen 0.14 +0.0% Platinum 1,069.00 +0.4% Palladium 1,487.84 -0.8% Gold 1,982.79 -0.3% Silver 23.76 +0.1% Brent Crude 74.91 -0.4% Top 40 73,189 +0.7% All Share 78,391 +0.5% Resource 10 69,523 +1.0% Industrial 25 109,298 +1.1% Financial 15 14,729 -1.1% All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Karate couple reach 8th Dan together in world first