African leaders issue plea to Putin: ‘We would like this war to be ended’

Leaders from seven African countries called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to help bring the war in Ukraine to an end, during a meeting in St. Petersburg on Saturday.

“We are here to communicate a very clear message that we would like this war to be ended,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said.

“We do believe that this is the time for both parties to negotiate, to negotiate an end to this war because this war is causing a great deal of instability and harm to various countries around the world,” he added.

Ramaphosa was joined by leaders and top officials from Comoros, Egypt, the Republic of Congo, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia on the “peace mission” to Ukraine and Russia, according to The Associated Press.

The delegation met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday, before heading to Russia on Saturday.

“I do believe that Ukrainians feel that they must fight and not give up,” the South African president said on Friday, according to the AP. 

However, he added, “There is a need to bring this conflict to an end sooner rather than later.”

Africa has been hit particularly hard by the 16-month long war in Ukraine, which has limited grain exports from Ukraine and fertilizers from Russia.

While Comoros, Egypt and Zambia voted in favor of a United Nations resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last March, the Republic of Congo, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda abstained from the vote.