A high-level African delegation was preparing to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, a day after its calls for talks between Moscow and Kyiv were rebuffed by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
The diplomatic team had gone to Kyiv on Friday to voice the concerns of a continent that has suffered from the fallout of Russia’s invasion — in particular rising grain prices — with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa insisting “there should be peace through negotiations”.
But Zelensky ruled out that possibility during a joint press conference with the delegates, telling reporters: “I clearly said several times at our meeting that to allow any negotiations with Russia now that the occupier is on our land is to freeze the war, to freeze pain and suffering”.
Shortly after the African leaders’ arrival, air raid sirens sounded across the country as Russian missiles were detected, forcing the delegates to take shelter in the capital.
Zelensky said the strike on Kyiv during the delegation’s visit showed that Putin either did not control his army, or was “irrational”.
Ramaphosa, however, took the barrage as evidence that both sides needed to stop fighting.
“It is precisely that type of event that we saw today… that makes us call for de-escalation,” Ramaphosa said, quoting Nelson Mandela several times on the need for peace.
In a statement, Zelensky said he had called on the leaders to set out their views on how to stop the “crimes committed by Russia”, and how to work towards food security.
“But first of all, we must restore the full force of the UN Charter and stop this brutal Russian aggression and free our land,” he added.
The African delegation had gone first to Bucha, a town outside the capital that has become synonymous with alleged war crimes carried out by Moscow.
The group includes four presidents: Ramaphosa, Senegal’s Macky Sall, Zambia’s Hakainde Hichilema and Comoros’ Azali Assoumani, who also currently heads the African Union.
The leaders of Uganda, Egypt and Congo-Brazzaville pulled out of the visit at the last moment and sent representatives instead.
The meeting came as Ukraine announced gains in a new counteroffensive, but Putin claimed on Friday that Kyiv’s forces “stand no chance” in the sectors where fighting has intensified.
