SA-led initiative to end Russia-Ukraine war commences

By Hans Ngala

CAPE TOWN – An African initiative to end the war in Ukraine, led by South Africa started on Thursday, June 15.
South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa landed in the Polish capital, Warsaw where he met with the country’s President, Andrzej Duda.
Ramaphosa along with Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema; Senegalese president Macky Sall and Comoran president Azali Assoumani are expected to meet Zelensky on Friday and then travel to St Petersburg to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni and Republic of Congo president Denis Sassou-Nguesso have all pulled out according to official sources. Sassou-Nguesso tried to persuade the other participants to postpone the peace mission on the grounds that the launch of Ukraine’s counter-offensive against Russia had made a visit to Kyiv too dangerous.
A document aimed at finding a resolution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict is expected to be formulated by the countries involved in the mission.
Foreign ministers from the seven African nations will draft the peace plan after the presidents have met Zelensky and Putin.
Over the weekend, Ramaphosa spoke with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping who endorsed the talks.
The Presidency of South Africa stated that “President Ramaphosa noted the peace plan that has been proposed by China and affirmed South Africa’s and the African leaders’ support of initiatives that are aimed at a peaceful resolution of the conflict. President Xi Jinping commended the initiative by the African continent and acknowledged the impact the conflict has had on human lives and on food security in Africa”.
South Africa has in the past few months faced a backlash over its non-aligned stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This led to South Africa abstaining from the United Nations vote on Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territories, while 143 countries voted in favor of the resolution.
In a further escalation of tensions, US ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety rocked US relations with South Africa by publicly announcing that the US was “confident” that the South African government had loaded weapons and ammunition onto the Russian cargo ship Lady R in Simon’s Town in December 2022.
The planned talks led by Ramaphosa’s government will also be a useful opportunity for South Africa to redeem her image before the watchful eyes of the Western world which have even sought to punish the country for what they deem as covert support for Russia.