Putin to Discuss Ukrainian Crisis Separately With African Leaders
12:15 28.07.2023 (Updated: 10:43 03.08.2023)
© Sputnik . Alexey Danichev / Go to the mediabankRussian President Vladimir Putin at the plenary session of the Second Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg, July 28, 2023
© Sputnik . Alexey Danichev
/ Subscribe
On July 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin held negotiations with a delegation representing South Africa, the Union of the Comoros, Zambia, Senegal, Egypt, Uganda and the Republic of the Congo in St. Petersburg to discuss a peace initiative on Ukraine that the African nations had prepared.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss Ukrainian issues separately with the leaders of African countries, he said on Friday.
"Today we will have a special time dedicated to this. As for peace, this is certainly the case, it is the basis of any development," Putin said after the speech of the leader of the Republic of the Congo at the Russia-Africa summit, which touched on Ukrainian issues.
Earlier, the leaders of a number of African countries came to St. Petersburg to meet with Putin with a proposal for a peace initiative.
Addressing a plenary session with 17 African leaders of the second day of Russia-Africa Summit and Humanitarian Forum, Putin touched upon the issue, stating that Russia is treating the African Russia-Ukraine Peace Initiative with respect as this is an acute crisis.
"Let's take, for example, the initiative of a number of African states to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. This is an acute problem, we do not avoid discussing it. This in itself says a lot, because before any intermediary missions were monopolized exclusively by countries with the so-called developed democracy. Not anymore, now Africa is also ready to help in solving problems that seem to be outside the zone of its primary interests. We respect your initiatives and consider them carefully," he said.
The second summit and the economic and humanitarian forum "Russia - Africa" is taking place on July 27-28 in St. Petersburg. Sputnik is a media partner of the event.