Presidents of six African nations to embark on peace mission to Ukraine and Russia in summer
A delegation of six African presidents plans to visit Ukraine and Russia in June this year. They intend to increase grain export from Ukraine and agree on exporting fertilizers from the Russian Federation.
Negotiator Jean-Yves Ollivier stated this in an interview with the Associated Press.
"A delegation of six African leaders is set to hold talks with Kyiv and Moscow. They want to 'initiate a peace process' but also raise the thorny issue of how to pay heavily sanctioned Russia to export fertilizers that Africa desperately needs ", said Jean-Yves Ollivier.
It is reported that Olivier has been working on organizing these negotiations for six months.
According to him, the African leaders also plan to discuss how to increase the export of grain cargoes from Ukraine in war conditions and the possibility of exchanging prisoners.
An African delegation wants to visit both countries in June 2023 with a "peacekeeping mission."
Ollivier arrived in Moscow and will also go to Kyiv to meet with high-ranking officials to work out the "logistics" of the upcoming negotiations.
According to him, six African presidents from Poland will probably be forced to travel to Kyiv by night train.
It pertains to the Presidents of:
- South Africa,
- Senegal,
- Egypt,
- the Republic of the Congo,
- Uganda,
- and Zambia.
Ollivier said that these talks have been approved by the US, the EU, the UN, the African Union, and China. At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin have agreed to host the African delegation.
A key starting point for Africa is grain and fertilizer.
The war seriously limited the export of grain from Ukraine and fertilizer from Russia, which exacerbated global food security and hunger.
Africa was one of the most affected continents.
Last week, Russia agreed to a two-month extension of a deal that allows Ukraine to ship grain across the Black Sea to the rest of the world, and six African presidents would like to see the agreement extended.
According to Ollivier, they also want to discuss ways to make it easier for African countries to receive supplies and pay for Russian fertilizers.
Russian fertilizers are not subject to international sanctions, but the US and some Western countries have imposed sanctions on Russian cargo ships.
Russia's access to SWIFT is also limited by sanctions, making it difficult for African countries to order and pay for critical fertilizers.
Ollivier remarked:
"We will need a window through which SWIFT will be authorized for this particular item…It will be on the negotiating table, and we hope that in that case, we will have the support of the Russians for grain from Ukraine and the support of the Ukrainians to find opportunities for payments and deliveries of Russian fertilizers".
For reference:
In May, during a telephone conversation, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed with the president of the Comoros Islands, Azali Assoumani, the development of cooperation between Ukraine and Africa, including in the context of food security, and invited to join the Ukrainian Peace Formula.
In addition, Zelensky wants to organize a summit of the countries of Latin America and Ukraine and personally visit it. Ukraine also seeks to develop relations with the countries of the African continent.
